Crystal Mind: The Internal Reality
by C-Sui
Summary: Kris is, or should be, a normal girl, but she was off in such a way that it bothered him. Giving into his curiosity, Silver soon attempts to figure her out... Silver x Kris/Crystal, Redemptionshipping.
1. Chapter 1: Genesis

Hello! It's been a while.

This story has been in my mind for quite a while, so I'm writing it to motivate myself to continue with my other fan-fiction, The Suicune Tale. I'm horrible at naming stories though, so forgive me if the title is unfitting at any point.

This will be seven chapters long because there's a patten with the Chapter headings. It's the first time I've written a short story, so I hope the pacing is okay. This is focused mainly, if not entirely, on Kris (female heroine) and Silver from Pokémon Crystal, and it is quite different compared to TST. And despite the nature of the first chapter, this isn't a journey story.

It's rated T just because I can't be sure Silver will be a good boy and not curse...also, I'm just being overly careful. I like my wiggle room.

Anyways, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon! If I did, then this would likely be an actual story rather than a _fan_-fiction on a _fan_-fiction website. Pokémon is owned by Satoshi Tajiri, Game Freak, Nintendo, Pokémon USA, etc.!

* * *

**Chapter 1**  
Genesis

An electronic ping rang out and, with a violent force, shook her awake. Her mind was fuzzy and unclear, and she stood stiffly like a doll waiting to be released from her packaging. It made little difference when she opened her eyes; there was nothing but an abyss of black cloaked around her. In some way, she understood that she was not very awake, but it was so well-hidden in her mind that she had yet to register it.

Time stirred quietly. It was peaceful and not awkward to her in the slightest, although it was lonesome and a little dull. But eventually—whenever it was, the girl could not tell—a simple creature appeared before her. It vanished and reappeared to release a resonating wave of sound. She could feel herself flinch in reaction, her awareness rising as the scenery around her developed like a photo in a darkroom. The trees stood tall above her as blades of grass nipped at her numb ankles, bringing a tingling sensation to her skin. A certain apprehension hazed beneath the evening's red-orange sky.

In response to the first creature, two other Pokémon, sharing various letter-like figures, rang out in the darkness. Curious and unable to figure out the strange occurrences before her, she watched with a blank look on her face.

A shadow graced across the area with blinding speed, bringing about a noisy rustle. The girl twitched in fear, and the grasses bowed before her as a quick wind breezed by. A few feet away, a Wooper and a Pichu leaped from the brush, just as bewildered as she was. She turned to them curiously, but the alphabet Pokémon returned, appearing and disappearing rapidly. She glanced back and forth in a futile attempt to identify them, but they hid themselves once more. Her quick-paced heart ticked hastily in her chest as she looked about. The silence aggravated her, as if taunting her maliciously.

The frightening shadow came into her view once again, and she instinctively jumped a few paces back. It leaped amongst the letter Pokémon, bearing a powerful azure body and a pair of fluttering white ribbons. She gazed in awe as the beast disappeared behind the string of Unown. The alphabet Pokémon shuffled about before vanishing for good.

A strong musical piece arose and continued to play for a short time. The encouraging theme brought a slight grin to the girl's face, amused with the idea that her dream had found it appropriate to insert background music—though she still did not know yet that she was dreaming.

"Wow!"

She flinched and searched around her, in hopes that she could catch sight of anyone nearby. But she was alone, and she was too timid to call out in response.

The trees whispered overhead in the warm, peaceful air. The girl would have taken to watching the Wooper and Pichu she had seen earlier, but she could not catch a glimpse of them in the tall grass nearby. Sighing, she knelt, feeling content to sit and wait to see what would happen next.

"What is your name?"

The question, new and also disembodied, it filtered into the atmosphere.

She lifted her head immediately. She was still alone, eerily enough, but she felt obligated to reply. After a few moments of thought, she answered into the twilight sky. Her new-found voice was quivering with inexperience, but loud with boldness because she knew the answer.

"My name... is Kris."

At once, a tingling sensation made her shiver all over. Looking down at the sleeves of her white jacket, she raised her hand to her eye level. Within her grasp was a Poké Ball, coated with the classic red and white paint. Her vision twisted, and she shut her dizzy eyes until the uneasy waves calmed.

A sweet aroma wafted about her nose, and the locks of her hair tickled her neck. Unable to stand the presence of darkness, she pulled her eyelids apart.

Kris blinked a few weary times as she stared into the coffee-brown walls of her generously spacious room. Her eyes focused on her right hand, which was held before her face, much like she had in her dream. Her hand was empty. A fresh song crawled through her eardrums, and she noticed that her TV had been left on. Whatever time she had fallen asleep escaped her, but she had at least slept in since it was past noon; at least, according to the plastic wall clock.

Forming a bright smile for whatever reason, she sat up from her abnormal sleeping spot on the floor. She ignored the chore of turning off her television and headed toward the descending stairs.

Two women took notice to her arrival on the first floor of her home, which appeared more or less similar to Kris's room in terms of the simple color scheme. This shade of brown would feel very bland if she had not grown accustomed to it; its neutral walls gave a sense of homeliness.

"Oh, Kris!" Her mother, a woman clad in a typical white apron and an eccentric hairstyle, strode toward her wearing a smile. With glee, she handed Kris a little cell phone, which was dubbed as a Poké Gear.

Kris observed it with a sense of curiosity as her mother continued. The Poké Gear had apparently been in some undisclosed repair shop for a while, but she remembered nothing of using it before—or seeing it, for that matter. She released a small sigh in order to suppress a yawn; because of her supposedly poor sleeping habits, she was quite sleepy that morning. Perhaps she would remember once it left.

"Oh, the day of the week isn't set," her peculiar mother said with a start. "You mustn't forget that! What day is it? Is it Daylight Saving Time now?"

It was almost surprising to hear her _ask _such simple questions, as they were so easy that Kris answered them as quickly as she could. She almost giggled at her mother's forgetfulness. Obviously, it was Monday; and since it was summer, Daylight Savings Time was certainly in effect.

The woman sent her another wave of sentences pertaining to how to use the Poké Gear, which sounded simple enough. Kris looked down at the phone with a grin. When her smiling mother turned away, Kris looked up and had the urge to skip alongside her to chirp a cheerful, "Thank You."

But Kris did not take a single step from where she was, nor did she utter a syllable from her mouth. The desire was there, but she did not act upon it.

Paralyzed, she stood with a funny sensation flailing in her stomach as she watched her mother return to her seat. The lyric-less tune droned on in her mind, and a foreign giggling squealed in delight. The laugh probably came from the TV behind her, and the music from the Poké Gear in her hand. A silent moment was rarely spared in her household, apparently. Music and the company of others did well to stave away any unwanted emptiness. Hence, it was odd of Kris to simply let the previous conversation drop off a cliff without her having the last word.

Before she could take further personal analysis of this, her feet moved her and she slung her azure Poké Gear around her neck without hesitation. She approached her neighbor sitting at the table, and the woman turned to her on a dime and suddenly talked to her. Although the woman seemed kind, Kris found her slightly boring. Being polite, though, she listened until she was done and steered away toward the exit. Kris bid the women farewell, expressed only by her smile and the glistening of her hazel irises.

They seemed not to notice, absorbed in their own conversation over Lemonade and some movie about a train. Not bothered by this, Kris turned back to the front door, which was marked by the pink doormat below her feet. The door easily gave way as she opened it.

A momentary flash blinded her, embracing her in white. As it faded, she blinked, dumbfounded.

It had taken her a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the sunlight. She fabricated a small smile at what lay before her. A network of dirt roads snaked throughout the town, connecting the cluster of homes. Lime-colored shingles covered the houses like brightly gleaming moss. Her neighborhood was small and modest, dotted with familiar faces that lightened whenever she made eye contact with them. Just beside her, the restless sea brushed against the land with a gentle, consistent push. As usual, it was a beautiful, cloudless day.

Mild excitement stirred inside the girl while she took the road leading to a large laboratory next door, where her mother had told her to go. She had spaced out on what the laboratory's owner—Professor Elm—wanted from her, but she figured that she would find out eventually.

Kris slowed, spotting a sign picketed in the ground. Since the walk to the lab was not far off, she could afford to procrastinate a little. She attempted to run toward the sign, but she approached at an even pace nonetheless. The calm composure she displayed surprised even herself.

Once close enough, she read the sign silently.

_"NEW BARK TOWN  
The Town Where the Winds of a New Beginning Blow"_

At that moment, a complying breeze brushed against her, sending a light tingle to travel up and down her dainty figure. Kris gazed quietly, looking at the name of her hometown as if she had noticed it for the first time. A wider smile accented her exuberant gaze, and she stood up straight with a nod. Clasping the straps of her backpack, Kris took an automatic turn and made an effort to skip toward the largest building in town.

It did not take long for her childish curiosity to again distract her, but this time it was not something as simple as a sign. What snatched her interest was a little more odd, and she took a casual step sideways to peer along the side of the pale yellow walls of the laboratory. Within the shadows, a boy was peeking through one of the windows. His appearance was not only shady, but extremely uncanny. He wore rather loose-fitting clothes, the most peculiar being a pair of purple cargo pants that failed to match the red accents of his long-sleeved jacket. In addition to this, his expression was as dark as the shadows he was isolated within.

Against her better judgment, Kris found herself strolling straight for the shady boy. A sense of uneasiness washed over her as the sunlight pulled away, but she did not stop. It was yet another thing she wished to think over—because her mother had told her time and time again to be careful, but she had this unusual bravery that she could not control. Especially now; to be honest, she found the boy intimidating, to say the least.

Kris stood behind him for some time, staring awkwardly at his long red hair that just passed his shoulders. That was probably his most curious feature of all, and it really made him stand out.

Eventually, she heard him mumble in a low tone, "So this is Professor Elm's Pokémon Lab..."

Was that why he was here? How strange he was. If he wanted to go inside the laboratory, he could just knock on the door. Or, if she asked him—which was a very big if—she could easily take him with her.

The boy suddenly turned around, facing her. He observed her for a brief second, as if making sure of her existence, and then scowled in disapproval. His glaring eyes were narrow, and it was impossible to distinguish any hue within. "What are you staring at?" he snapped, though he was relatively calm about it.

Kris looked away at once. Slowly, inevitably, she managed to ease her eyes back to him. The boy stared at her with more or less the same miffed expression. There was a few seconds of silence, making her evermore uncomfortable. But when she opened her mouth to speak, she shut it immediately. Deep shivers ran through her veins. She was frightened, somehow, far more than she felt; she could not even coax herself to speak whatsoever.

Her voice was gone; nonexistent.

Feeling as though the girl had spent long enough invading his personal space, the redhead approached further and shoved her back into the sunlight.

Only a gasp escaped her as she stumbled and narrowly avoided toppling over. Kris immediately turned to the boy, who stood in the same place as before. He acted as though she had never approached him in the first place, not even sparing her a glare. She felt rather offended, as well as a mixture of other emotions she had yet to pick apart and decipher individually.

"Hehe....Hey, that was mean!"

Kris froze. She truly wanted to stay and call out the scarlet-haired boy on his unfriendly behavior. She still, at least, wanted to ask him why he was spying from within the shadows. Then there was one other thing...

But, also as if nothing had happened, Kris coolly turned and entered Professor Elm's Laboratory.


	2. Chapter 2: Submissive

Hello again.  
I'm glad to see that I already have a couple of followers. Thank you!

This next chapter is significantly different from the first; now we're focusing on Silver, after everything has been said and done in Johto and Kanto. And, of course, the oddity that is Kris. I didn't think that it was as mysterious or suspenseful enough for the "Mystery" genre, so I stuck with "Friendship/Romance". But if you have any suggestions, feel free to tell me!

I feel that I only need to write one disclaimer at the beginning of the story, so there.  
Chapter Two start!

* * *

**Chapter 2**  
Submissive

No matter what, Silver always stuck to his schedule.

Hence, it was no surprise to him when he arrived at the Indigo Plateau Pokémon League at 12AM exactly one Sunday night—Monday morning. He strolled inside the tall, blocky building as if he had done it a thousand times. The midnight shadows behind him were shut away by the double doors, which appeared so formidably sturdy that they might be impossible to break down.

Inside, the florescent lights gave off a lifeless glow, shining dimly in the spacious lobby that contained both a Pokémon Center and a Poké Mart. Silver trudged toward the seating area, causing the stark yellow cushions to release a sharp hiss as he carelessly plopped down upon the closest one. He tried _not_ to notice the annoying shade of pink that was the floor, but he ironically did so because the thought had crossed his mind. The pastel coloring was an ongoing theme for the entire building, inside and out. He absolutely _loathed_ it at this point, because his schedule required him to be here every Monday and Wednesday from dawn until dusk. It made him wonder what was going through the minds of the flowery idiots that designed the place. From time to time he would have the sudden, unexplainable urge to paint the entire place a deep scarlet; perhaps even a dash of gold to add a sense of importance. After all, the Indigo Plateau was well-known for the Elite Four, the skilled Trainers who were housed here with the Champion, that irritatingly powerful Dragon Tamer Lance.

Or, should one say, he was the _ex_-Champion. For whatever reason, he was still called the Champion. At this point, Lance and the entire Elite Four were likely no match for the girl who had graciously defeated them fifty times; even more, since Silver stopped bothering to count after that.

Because if Silver could not defeat Kris, he figured no one could. No, he failed to believe that _anyone_—even the legendary Pokémon Trainer Red who had gone missing three years ago (or was it four years now?)—could defeat her.

The redhead crossed his arms, his neutral frown twisting into a scowl. But he soon relaxed his shoulders, deciding to think about his azure-haired rival the next time he saw her, which was bound to happen since she had obviously picked up on his training habits. It could be labeled as tradition for them to battle on Mondays and Wednesdays at the Indigo Plateau. One could even say he was waiting for her.

Her activity was often erratic, though. Sometimes he would not see her for what felt like months at a time, but she would always return, ready for a battle with him. Kris would not explain, and Silver, though he would be the one to speak, would not ask. That was often how their conversations went. She never talked to him, only observing him as he rambled on and on about how he would improve his training and get stronger. Her staring eyes used to make him really uncomfortable or extremely frustrated. He knew there was a spirit within those eyes, but for some reason that girl would not even utter a _peep_ when she was around him.

Now, Silver had his reasons for hating her at first because he could not accept a loss. The same could be said from her perspective, too, if she had any contempt toward the way he used to treat his Pokémon back when they were traveling through Johto; which he was sure she did, by the way her eyes would flare in disgust. But he had learned his lesson, hadn't he? He tried and was still trying to make his Pokémon stronger while, at the same time, treating them better with respect and trust. He even shared his food with his Typhlosion on occasion.

But to this day, he had yet to defeat her. Even with all the hard training he had done, it seemed as though Kris was the only one getting stronger, and the gap between them stretched further each time they battled.

To make matters worse, she had lost her enthusiasm; at least, from what he could tell in her observant eyes. Kris used to have a certain kind of expectancy and cautiousness toward him, which sometimes even bordered on fear. As time went on, her posture relaxed and the intense stare remained, but now it seemed she showed little interest in him anymore. It was the most disheartening thing for some reason. What did he have left that he still needed to learn? Better yet, why couldn't she just _tell_ him already? In fact, why couldn't she spare at least a word to prove to him that she _wasn't_ mute?

Stories say that Red was the same way; that he was very much the quiet type, but somehow expressive in how he cared for his Pokémon...and that he was unbeatable.

Silver grabbed his chin in his hand and rested his elbow on his knee, glaring at the hot pink tiles below his boots. Though he had wanted to avoid thinking about Kris, it only caused him to think about her more. It was frustrating that she invaded his mind so often, since there should not be much to think about aside from his being unable to defeat her. However, he could not help it.

Kris was—or should be—a normal girl, but she was off in such a way that it bothered him.

Whatever. Quit thinking about her, the boy Trainer ordered himself. The lights shining over him flickered and seemed to brighten a little. Silver sighed. He doubted that she would even come that day, since she had been on one of her long absences again. No one knew where she was during these times...

The double doors promptly opened, and as though Celebi itself had listened in on his thoughts and decided to prove him wrong, the girl he had been thinking of walked in.

Silver looked up, genuinely surprised that she had actually arrived so soon; according to the clock on the Poké Gear in his free hand, it was around 1:30 AM (had he _really_ been thinking for that _long?_). He could literally count on his hands the number of times he had met her this late at night.

At her usual even pace, Kris walked down the hallway where the Elite Four challenge could be taken. As she did so, she passed by the seating area and therefore Silver too, as if she had not even seen him. He snorted in discontent and stood. Unable to stand being outright ignored, Silver rebelliously caught up to her. Kris stopped a few steps away from the stairs and turned, seeming surprised at first. Silver smirked as he halted in front of her; either she had complete tunnel vision, or she purposefully ignored him just so she could lead him into the hall, where they had always done their battles.

"Hold it," he said, rather confidently. "You're going to take the Pokémon League challenge now?"

Kris's brief liveliness slipped away, and she gazed at him with a tired stare. Just what had she expected there, if anything?

He immediately frowned. "That's not going to happen. My super-well-trained Pokémon are going to pound you." He recklessly clenched the Poké Ball containing his Sneasel and pointed at her, his index finger inches from her nose.

She did not flinch, only yielding so much as a blink.

"Kris!" Silver barked her name, which was both an effort to intimidate her and encourage himself. "I challenge you!"

The battle felt even more one-sided than the last. At least, that was how it felt to him. Perhaps the downward spiral had stopped long ago, but Silver could not help but feel pathetic and inferior and _weak_. These feelings used to drive him up the wall, and he would go on seething over Kris for days, but over time the losses became less and less painful. He barely felt upset about losing to her once again; in fact, he managed a sneer as though he expected nothing more.

Had winning so often become boring for Kris? The thought had never occurred to him.

"...Okay. I lost," Silver finally said after he had recalled his last Pokémon. He glanced away from Kris and looked down at the Poké Ball in his hand.

He waited until he could not stand it. Kris, unsurprisingly, refused to speak.

"Darn...I still can't win... I... I have to think more about my Pokémon." His naturally narrow eyes ascended to the girl's porcelain face, which more or less returned the stare listlessly. For the first time, he noticed the rings under her eyes; rather than bored, she looked flat-out _exhausted_. It was a wonder that she had not fallen asleep during the battle, seeing as how her Meganium took out all of his Pokémon in six clean hits—even his Typhlosion. A fragment of immature anger arose in his chest, and he stubbornly averted his gaze, flustered. "Humph! Try not to lose!"

At that, he stormed past her, cursing quietly to himself. He had _never_ won in the first place, at this rate he _never_ will, and he had _certainly_ been doing as much as he could to think more about his Pokémon. Why the _hell_ did he even say that to her? Every time he faced her, he would forget what he had planned to say beforehand, so in the end he just said whatever came to his mind to stave away any awkwardness between them. It felt like he was saying the same thing over and over.

It was no wonder she might have been bored of him; he was just a broken record now.

As soon as he had stomped back into the seating area, Silver glanced over his shoulder, having to flick his head a little to prevent his crimson locks from obstructing his view. Kris had promenaded over to the other side of the pastel-colored lobby. He maintained his lingering scowl, deciding not to heal his Pokémon until after she left, which she systematically did moments later.

She did not look at him, and he did not bother to bid her farewell. Typical.

* * *

Though dissatisfied and eager to get back to the Dragon's Den to review his training, Silver nonetheless stayed at the Pokémon League for the rest of the day. It was dreadfully dull; the Elite Four refused to battle him for some reason, even though he had collected the Johto Gym Badges long ago, but it was all a part of his schedule and he would abide by it. This was called perseverance and tenacity, wasn't it? The kind of thing that Red and now Kris were so praised of having. He would not and will not give up until he got stronger, at least strong enough to defeat his silent rival (though a tie would satisfy him enough at this point).

Toward the last hour of his stay, Silver laid back on the row of cushion seats and glowered at the clock on his Poké Gear as the minutes ticked away, counting down when he would leave. Just because he was willing to be tenacious did not mean he had to enjoy doing it.

However, much to his surprise, at 11:30PM sharp the doors opened and footsteps echoed about the nearly deserted lobby. Hardly anyone had the ability to reach the Indigo Plateau, apparently, so visitors were scarce. Silver quickly sat up and turned toward the entrance—.

There he saw Kris once again, and he shook his head in a chilling sense of déjà vu as she headed for the healing counter. Slightly intrigued, he got on his feet and walked closer, keeping a good distance away. He strained his ears as the nurse asked her the classic rhetorical question.

"Shall we heal your Pokémon?"

It was a yes or no question, but he had to wonder if she would reply verbally.

Kris seemed to delay her response, but to his disappointment only nodded.

Once she had retrieved her Poké Balls, she turned and made a beeline toward the exit. She did not cast a glance at Silver, most likely not honestly seeing him. However, he had gotten a good look at her tired face, which was even more fatigued as compared to almost a day ago.

(Get some sleep already, won't you? You don't need to work hard; you're already strong enough...)

However, the azure-haired girl suddenly stopped.

Silver raised an eyebrow at this curious behavior, staring at her back and her peculiar twin ponytails that seemed to defy gravity in every way. In fact, her entire outfit was rather outlandish. She was an unusual blend of blue, white, pink-red, yellow, and black, but somehow it looked right to him after so long of seeing her in it.

The florescent lights flickered and dimmed. He sent a small scowl at the ceiling in response; how old _was _this building? Aside from needing a major paint job, it also needed renovations to boot.

"Oh, finally. I'm exhausted..."

The unfamiliar voice reached his ears, and he turned to see Kris stretching her arms. She released a yawn and sat down on the floor in the middle of the room. This was surreal in itself; speaking was one thing, but Silver had never seen her move around so casually. Kris always had perfect posture, as far as he knew. Most importantly, her voice, though slightly lackluster due to fatigue, was very sweet and youthful yet very much mature. It suited her perfectly.

Kris did not move after that. Out of sheer curiosity, the boy approached and peered down at her. She was sitting cross-legged with her hands in her lap and her head hung low, as if she were meditating. Even as Silver began circling her just to coax her attention (preferably with surprise), the girl did not budge.

After a while when he began to feel like _he_ was the oddball of the two, the redhead stopped and partially knelt beside her, observing her soft expression with a frown. Was she _actually_ sleeping, sitting on the floor like this?

Despite that, Silver decided to take the initiative as usual and called her name. "Hey, Kris."

She twitched, but seemed to ignore him, which only added fuel to his fire.

"Humph. I know you can hear me," he said. He reached out and grabbed her petite shoulder, which was covered by her white jacket.

Kris jumped skittishly at his touch. She turned to him with a bothered and drowsy expression, but upon recognizing the familiar face of her rival, her once-apathetic eyes popped wide open. In the few seconds following, she showed him the most variety of emotions he had ever seen on her before. She was the panicked mixture of confusion, surprise, liveliness, curiosity, and even fear, all of which were surprisingly intense. She was taken off guard to the point where she had entirely lost her composure, and it showed clearly.

This unpredictable reaction even made Silver gawk back at her. However, he was the first to recover.

"The world isn't your bedroom," he commented snidely as he stood. "You could at least use the benches over there instead of sleeping on the floor."

Kris's face had settled on dumbfounded for the moment, craning her neck to look up at him with her shining hazel irises. Hesitant, she searched around her for some nonexistent person before standing on her feet. She soon looked lost and insecure, even when her gaze settled on him and picked up a sense of courage—something rarely seen since there was nothing worth her being afraid of.

The boy smirked a little wider than he probably should have, for he could not help but feel amused at making her react so notably to his presence. Perhaps the whole apathy thing was just an act? He would not like to think so, but he could not deny how drastically different she was now.

"What, Meowth got your tongue?" he then asked her, teasing her with a sneer and a tilt of his head.

At this point, Kris stood her ground almost fiercely, nervously. She raised an eyebrow, but she still said nothing. All of her attention was on him, just like old times, and he basked victoriously in it. Who knew it would be that easy to get her to acknowledge him and act like a human being for once?

He calmed a little, letting his grin tone down into a frown. "You know, something has always bugged me about you. Why don't you ever talk? Do you think you'll look powerful like Red? That's stupid. You're good enough, aren't you?" She did not reply, a frown of her own fixed on her lips. Much to Silver's frustration, she was reverting back to her previous state, but she flinched as he abruptly snapped, "Well? Why don't you talk?"

She was beginning to look uncomfortable again, but she replied to him in a small, stuttering voice. It was obvious that her nervousness had gotten the best of her.

"Y...Yes...?"

"Yes? I'm asking you _why_, not _if._ I know you can talk, you did perfectly fine a little while ago."

"You... heard me earlier...?"

"It was kind of hard _not_ to."

Kris nodded. What kind of emotion was on her face now? It was hard to determine, but by the rosiness of her cheeks one could guess she was at least embarrassed.

"Humph," Silver sighed. He thought the Olivine City Gym Leader was shy and socially awkward, but he never suspected _Kris_ of all people to be the same way. Someone once said to never judge a book by its cover, but he had been too busy trying to figure out how to _open_ the curiously unusual book that was Kris. Now, when he finally had the chance to pry it ajar, he might as well take advantage of it while he could. With a casual turn of his head, he stared at the rows of yellow seats behind him. He then glanced back at Kris, who seemed to have relaxed a little bit. "Why don't we sit over there and talk like _normal_ people would do?"

Her emotionless frown twisted for multiple reasons, but she unwillingly nodded again.

Though they sat beside one another, there was a good distance between them. Silver felt like teasing her further, but seeing as how Kris was already uncomfortable enough as it was, he mercifully opted not to. It took him longer than it should have for him to come up with what to say, however. Like many occasions before, the ideas fled from him, but at least now he had the spare time to think. He glanced around, hoping that anything on the nurse's desk or the Poké Mart kiosk would spark his memory, but primarily observed the girl next to him. She seemed rather intrigued by the texture of the bright yellow seats, occasionally pressing down on a vacant spot with her palm to watch it revert to normal. Whenever her eyes wandered toward his, she would look away as soon as they made contact.

"The cushions...they're really soft," she managed to say without a glance at him, which made it even more difficult for Silver to think of a response. Shoot, she really _was_ socially awkward.

Inevitably, Silver gave in to the easiest way to respond. "Humph, what? Of course they are. You act like you've never sat on them before."

Kris again went pink in the face. "I... actually haven't," she admitted.

He looked at her in disbelief. "Is _that_ why you were sitting on the floor? For Celebi's sake, it isn't going to _bite_ you."

She giggled. Though she tried to pacify it with her hand, she failed to silence herself. "What...What's with all these puns?"

"Puns?" he asked, more intrigued by the fact that she was actually _laughing_ than why she was doing it.

"The Celebi one! And then the Meowth one, too... What the heck?"

Silver eyed her as if she had lost her marbles. "Don't you know? Those are common phrases. Everyone uses them. What's so funny about it?"

She gave him a semi-bubbly smile. "The fact that you're actually using Pokémon names for them. It's so..." Kris looked away, beginning to play with her hair as she finished softly, "Corny, I guess..."

"Do you have any _better_ suggestions?"

"...No?" she answered, sounding uncertain. She had suddenly chilled out to the point of neutrality once again.

Because of the odd deliverance of her reply, Silver could only look away with a pointless, "Humph," to fill in space.

They were quiet once again. Kris no longer paid any mind to the yellow seats, and had interlaced her delicate fingers as she looked down at the flamingo pink floor. She was kind of a wonder; she was strong, petite and in no way muscular, like a perfect mixture between meticulous and casual, princess and warrior. Her form-fitting outfit did well to accent this with the exception to her jacket, which had long and baggy sleeves. A smile lingered on her face, full of warmth that was a novelty to both her and Silver.

"...I've never... really talked all that much, honestly," Kris again spoke. She glanced at him as if to make sure he was listening. "Everyone always talks to me, so I just listen... But sometimes people try to put words in my mouth. Someone once thought I asked her whether she had caught a Doduo, when really I didn't say anything in the first place. It's... weird." Feeling self-conscious, she stopped talking after this, her face reddening again.

Silver crossed his arms. "They're just trying to stay on good terms with you so they can battle and be 'friends' with you."

"Maybe... But this is the first time I've actually had a real talk with someone." Kris's grin expanded in a reserved glee, and she made the effort to make eye contact with him. "I had a lot of fun. Thank you, Silver. Really."

"Humph," he shrugged and looked away, "It's nothing. I only wanted to find out why you didn't speak to me. I didn't think you'd be so antisocial."

"I'm not antisocial. I just...can't help myself," she muttered with a pout.

This just caused Silver to smirk in return. "Anyway, who says we're done talking? We haven't even had a relevant conversation yet." For good measure, he reached into the front pocket of his black jacket, pulling out his Poké Gear again to check the time. He almost sprung to his feet; the phone in his hand indicated that it was 11:59PM exactly. It would have been a close call if Silver were not currently engaged in a somewhat intriguing chit-chat with his rival. "Oh. It's almost midnight."

Kris looked at his Poké Gear with pleasant interest, leaning in briefly to check herself. "It's almost time for you to go, isn't it? ...Tomorrow is Tuesday, so you'll be headed for the Dragon's Den?"

"Yeah, I normally would." Silver glared at her with a hint of suspicion. "How do you know that I leave here exactly at midnight?"

She did not reply for a few moments, looking at him innocently before giving a light shrug. "I know your routine, but I kind of wondered when you left. ...I just guessed."

Satisfied with the answer, the boy turned off his Poké Gear and stowed it away once more. "I'm always strict with my schedule, but I guess I can make an exception tonight."

"...You sure?" Kris asked. She seemed curious and even hopeful at the prospect.

"Why not? You don't look like you're going to crash anytime soon."

"Don't worry about that; I can function on very little sleep. A couple minutes can last me hours." The matter-of-fact tone she used was rather interesting, and the way she spoke was beginning to sound completely normal. The distant expression she had once donned seemed to be a far-off memory.

Silver stood and looked down at her daringly. "So can I. How about we see who falls asleep first?"

Interested at the idea, Kris cocked her head to the side and grinned, waiting a few seconds to think of what to say.

As she was about to speak, a clock somewhere in the lobby rung twelve times.

In that time, Silver had a sudden change of heart, expressing that he would rather go train at the Dragon's Den for the moment. Kris did not seem the least bit upset or surprised. She answered that she was honestly a little busy herself with completing her Pokédex, and that she would take up on his challenge the next time they met on peaceful terms. Silver nodded curtly and left. Neither of them exchanged farewells. It was just like them to do that. Not much could change in a single night, and Silver was not willing to break his habitual schedule all of a sudden. There was always time in the future to plan for something.

Even so, there was something in him that regretted leaving her like that. By the time he had come to this conclusion, he was already sharing a rice ball with his Typhlosion in the musty darkness of the sacred Dragon's Den. If Kris was not satisfied, she probably would have said something about it anyways.

Probably.


	3. Chapter 3: Convoluted

Chapter three!

It's quite fun writing a short story with inspiration at your side. So much progress is made, but I guess I say that because I'm just not used to writing such short stories. The Suicune Tale is quite a monster in comparison, but I love writing it too. TST feels more interesting, though... I suppose it's because of the drastic character differences between Marina (in TST) and Kris (in this story). Marina's much more cheerful and outgoing, while Kris is mature but surprisingly timid...and, as this Chapter tells, she's quite complex.

Well, enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 3**  
Convoluted

The next few times Silver and Kris were able to meet varied greatly. At times they would meet up at the Indigo Plateau every Monday and Wednesday for a battle, and sometimes they would have a brief chit-chat in the Dragon's Den on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but it was more probable that Kris would not show up at all. Even when she did come around, she never stayed for long.

This unreliable pattern irritated Silver because he followed his routine without a hitch, and that even though she always knew where he was, it was never the same vice-versa. He meant to pester her about it, but since he remembered that the girl was working nonstop to complete her Pokédex—possibly the most tedious and time-consuming job for someone to take on single-handedly—he decided not to. Instead, he snatched her Poké Gear the second time they were able to have a sit-down chat at the Indigo Plateau, putting in his phone number and then getting her contact information as well.

Why did she only have ten numbers on her phone list? Perhaps it was far easier to keep track of who was who. Kris was not a real social butterfly, after all.

When Silver and Kris _did_ manage to meet for another long-winded conversation, Silver found that it was worth his time. Though their exchanges were often odd, as was Kris's disposition overall, they were certainly interesting. It gave him insight into Kris's life, which was locked away so tightly mere weeks ago. Apparently, she had been working with a girl named Dani soon after she had become a Pokémon Trainer, and they often—if not always—traveled and trained together. Even now, Dani was helping Kris with the Pokédex. Silver had never seen or even knew of this girl's existence before, but Kris revered her with praise. They were best friends, of a sort.

Kris's expressions had also livened considerably since their first unusual chat. She smiled more, even during their occasional battles when she was always silent, and she grew more talkative the more she grew accustomed to Silver's presence. Somehow, it brought a certain warmth in the depths of Silver's chest. But he was not a fool with his emotions; he pressed the feeling down and tucked it away for the time being.

Even so, he could not help but enjoy Kris's company, as strange as she was.

The most incredible aspect of Kris was that she was like a walking Pokémon encyclopedia. From all the research she had been doing, she soon began telling him about the other regional Pokédexes, the new Pokémon they contained, and even what kind of climates the regions were. It was almost breathtaking, being presented with so much knowledge and watching Kris talk on for hours.

"The Trainers completing the Sinnoh Pokédex discovered a lot of new evolutions," Kris was saying one day at their usual spot on the yellow chairs. "To name a few, there's two new Eevee evolutions: Leafeon and Glaceon. And I think... Togetic can evolve into Togekiss, Kirlia—one of the Hoenn region Pokémon—can also evolve into Gallade, and your Sneasel and Magneton could evolve into a Weavile and Magnezone."

Silver blinked notably after a few moments, realizing it was his turn to speak; it was a lot to take in. "Huh, really. Then why haven't they evolved yet? I've trained them tirelessly every day." He acted skeptical, but it was to encourage her to keep talking. If he did not, she would reply in a concise manner, leading to an awkward silence. It was usually very difficult to get a conversation back up from that rut.

"I think... The reason why we haven't been able to evolve them is because there are certain items that can only be found in Sinnoh. I'll need a Dusk Stone, for example, to evolve a Misdreavus into a Mismagius, but since I can't obtain one in Johto or Kanto, I can't evolve it," she explained. After another moment's thought, she added, "I've also heard that there are swarms of Hoenn and Sinnoh Pokémon in various places... The radio doesn't say anything about it. It's going to be a wild goose chase...and I probably won't find them anyways." She added a light sigh afterward.

"Goose chase?" Silver raised an eyebrow. "...You don't _have_ to catch them. Leave it to the Trainers in the other regions."

"I guess."

Resting his chin on his hand, he glanced over at Kris, who was now blankly skimming through the virtual pages of her Pokédex. He began to feel slightly sympathetic for her endeavors, which seemed so endless like his own goal to become stronger. "...The radio is so useless. The TVs, too," he grumbled, "I hate how they're so centered on their own region. Kanto's TV programs are even different from Johto's. Because of that, I had no idea that other Pokémon even _existed_, or other regions for that matter."

Kris spared a soft giggle, which was only heard because the lobby was silent except for them.

"Humph. How many Pokémon_ are_ there, anyways?"

"...Hm..." She covered her mouth with her hand as she thought intensely. Silver could not tell whether she was trying to remember the number or if she was counting all of the Pokémon by memory; either way was entirely logical for the peculiar pigtailed girl. As she slipped out of the pose, Kris came up with the answer. "Four-hundred ninety-three...? No... Counting the four regions, it's that number. But another region is joining in the 'Pokédex Project' and only two of those are known for now... So technically, it's four-hundred ninety-five."

Silver's jaw dropped as he turned to her. "_What?_ That's almost five-hundred! Almost double the Johto and Kanto Pokémon!"

"It _will_ be more than double soon."

"Why are you so calm about that?" he asked her. "How the hell are you going to catch over two-hundred and fifty more Pokémon than the two-hundred fifty-one you're supposed to catch now? That's fucking crazy."

Her observant eyes scanned him, quiet at first. She meekly smiled and responded, "Well, I _don't _expect myself to catch them. I can't, being as I am now... You're right. I should let the other 'Pokédex Holders' do it. I should just worry about Johto and Kanto."

"Exactly. Professor Oak's got another thing coming if he thinks he can just pile that burden on you without lifting a finger himself."

Kris nodded.

Silver grimaced. "By the way... Do you need someone to help you trade?" he questioned. "There are Pokémon like Alakazam and—."

"Gengar?" she finished, making a slight grin as she knew he was referring to his own Pokémon. "I already have a friend helping me with that."

"Who? Dani?"

She shook her head, her marine-colored pigtails flipping against her cheeks. "No. His name is Gold. He grew up in New Bark Town like I have."

"Gold?"

"Yes. He's a Trainer too, and like Dani he's been helping me... Pretty soon, we're going to trade Pokémon like Kadabra and Seadra, and we'll also exchange Pokémon that I haven't been able to find. You don't have to worry." Kris turned to him as she said this, but she was met by a bitter scowl.

Silver shrugged and looked away. "Humph. Good for you."

An awkward quiet again came upon them. Kris did not ask what was bugging him, and Silver did not swallow down the stubbornness that prevented him from helping the conversation along. Luckily enough, it was near midnight, so they did not have to sit beside each other for much longer. The moment the clock struck twelve, he stood and brushed past her silently. She watched after him, puzzled.

"G-Good luck on your training," she called after him, tripping over her tongue in the process.

Silver stopped. He released a rough sigh, but looked over his shoulder. Glancing at the red device in the girl's hands, he frowned disapprovingly and made eye contact with her.

"Shut that thing and get some rest, Kris," he said.

Very slowly, a knowing smile stretched across her face. Kris giggled vaguely and gave him a complying nod, her youthful cheeks turning the faintest shade of pink.

"Okay."

* * *

It was another Monday, therefore another day Silver spent sitting on the yellow benches, bored out of his mind, irritated by the horrendously pink floor, and wondering why the Elite Four refused to fight him. Perhaps he ought to ask Kris the next time he saw her, since she seemed to know anything about everything. It had not been long since they had last conversed, but Silver found himself unreasonably eager to talk with her. The way they had parted ways was grinding at his mind, but he would have to wait for her. She would not answer her Poké Gear.

Why was she so hard to _contact_? The way Kris had looked at him last was certainly not in a disdainful or angry way—in fact, she was peculiarly cheerful—so she should not be holding a grudge of any kind. She really was illogical, and Silver just could not understand her sometimes, if not all the time.

I don't care anyways, his stubborn thoughts reiterated. Kris can trade with whoever she wants. It's none of my business.

Afternoon recently took hold on the building, and there was still another eleven or so hours to go before he could leave for Dragon's Den. Feeling restless and extremely bored, Silver stood from where he sat and headed for the staircase on the other side of the room. He had visited the second floor several times before, but he found little need to go up there, seeing as how he did not know many people he could trade and battle with. (What was that last facility? A "Time Machine" or something? How weirdly futuristic. It probably doesn't even work.)

As he reached the top of the stairs, he glared at the floor. Unfortunately, the spring-like color scheme was the same here too. The lighting was dim, but that was mostly because it was daytime. He took a glance at the windows, which showed the clear-cut path that led back toward the Victory Road. From here, even if Kris were to arrive on a flying Pokémon, he would see her coming. It would not take him long to descend the stairs and catch her off-guard for a battle. Even if he did lose every time against her Pokémon, it felt a little comforting to at least get the upper hand over Kris herself.

Smirking at this pleasant fantasy, Silver turned back toward the room. There were a few of the yellow benches here too, less than on the first floor but identical to them in every way. (Didn't they have these in the Pokémon Centers too? What the hell is up with that? Was there a big sale for them at the Goldenrod Department Store or something?) He was beginning to debate on whether or not to sit there when he heard what sounded like a quick intake of breath. Alarmed that he was not alone—with the exception of the apathetic nurses—Silver scanned the room warily. His eyes were guided by another muffled sob, but they stopped on a sad and surprising sight.

Kris sat near the trading booth, hugging her knees and her face buried in them. She had her hands clutched tightly, her fingers digging into the palms of her hands. Her shoulders twitched every so often, and she uttered those gasping sounds that hinted that she was crying—no, that she was _bawling_.

Silver did not know how to react at first. He had never been one to cry himself, although he had always wanted to be alone whenever he was on the verge of doing so. But he simply could not pretend he did not see her poor, shivering figure. (How long had she been there anyways?) Hesitantly at first, Silver walked over to her, glaring at the nurse attending the trading counter, who seemed to not notice what was going on. Deciding not to bother, he focused his attention on the blue-haired girl. Words clogged his throat, and it was difficult to say anything. But finally, he decided to at least announce his presence.

"Kris."

The girl shivered at his voice, especially at the unexpected closeness of it. She held her knees closer for a moment, but released them a little as she slowly raised her head. Strands of her hair were askew, and her face and eyes were flushed cherry red, glistening and dripping with tears. The teal irises of her eyes were unaffected by the redness, standing out brilliantly, but her expression was so distraught that it was impossible to admire it without feeling caught up in all the sorrow.

Silver's frown deepened. Fighting against that urge to stay silent, he finally asked, "What's wrong? Why the hell are you crying?" The questions sounded harsher than he expected, but he could not help it. A hint of frustrated anger growled in his throat at seeing the strong, composed, and friendly Kris—the epitome of what he imagined as a near perfect Trainer—in such a degrading state. He figured that she was the type to seek comfort in her Pokémon, but they were nowhere in sight.

For a moment, Kris seemed confused. But she soon began wiping her tears, turning away as she realized just why he was looking down at her so pitifully. "I-I am crying, aren't I...?"

"I can see that," he said in a near mutter. "_Why_ are you crying? ...Stop it. You look pathetic."

She was silent for a brief time aside from the involuntary sniffling. "...L-Leave me alone, Silver."

Silver scowled. "What, you expect me to go downstairs like I never saw you crying like a baby? Even _I'm_ not that heartless."

"No. ...It's not like you care about Gold anyways..."

The redhead was quiet, leaving her to continue wiping her cheeks with the sleeve of her jacket.

"I-I don't mind. I hardly know him. It's just that...G-Gold...he..." Her face twisted again to try to stop the oncoming flow of new tears.

"...He what?" he asked anyways.

Her beautifully tragic hazel eyes slid in his direction. She closed them and sighed unevenly, placing her hand on her forehead as her fingers ran through her bangs. For a moment, she appeared much older than she looked. "Gold...he's... H-He got into an accident, or something...and now he can't remember anything..."

Silver's eyebrows rose a little. "Amnesia?"

Kris inched her knees closer to her chest. "He...won't recover."

His frown twitched and, unable to find an appropriate way to respond, he sat down beside her. He listened with distaste as she struggled with her sobbing. It was, again, difficult to figure out what to do or say, but it helped to think that the tension was not much different from the usual. The only trick was to find something that would not only aid her, but would also not hurt her. Of course, it was against his own personal desire to say anything emotional or cheesy.

It was true; he did not care for Gold, whoever he was, and somewhere inside Silver was glad that he was sort of out of the way. But, he did vaguely care for Kris, and it confused him as to why she would cry so much over someone she apparently did not know well.

He barely looked at her and asked an almost random question. "Did you ever get around to trading with him?"

She did not move for a while. But, surprisingly, Kris nodded and responded in a weak whisper, "Yes...He was at least...able to do that..."

Silver nodded back, staring up at the ceiling. As he remembered the existence of the stiff nurse standing next to them, he cast a discreet glance at her. Before, she had seemed entirely indifferent, but now he noticed the way she evaded her gaze from the two. It was not as though she did not care or notice; she simply did not know how to act and decided to leave the girl alone.

"Silver..."

Upon hearing Kris speak, he looked back at her. The girl had finally stopped crying, but an empty, terrified expression remained. If anything, it made him even more unsettled.

"I'm scared...that it'll happen to me too," she clutched the sleeves of her jacket tightly, "When I'll end up dying like that, too. I don't...I don't want to forget...I don't want to lose everything I've gained up until now...!" Kris sniffled as she bit her lip, her expression adapting a sense of anger. She shook her head violently.

"And I don't want people to forget about me, even though I was 'here' first! I don't _want_ to be 'replaced'! It's not _fair!_"

A spineless quiet passed over them.

Silver gazed at her strangely and scoffed. "Humph. What are you _talking _about?"

Kris looked back at him in disbelief, as if her feelings had gotten a little bit hurt.

"Accidents don't always happen like that. You won't end up like that Gold guy," he said to her seriously. "And what's with freaking out about people forgetting about you? You're the damned _Champion_, the first female one at that. Hell, you're like the next Red. It's going to be a _long _time before someone like you comes along."

She stared with a indecipherable expression, and he stared back without faltering. The empty frown returned to her flushed face, and her eyes experienced a slight loss of something. Her gaze dropped to the floor, and she hid her face in her arms again. After a few seconds, she released a sniffle that she quickly tried to suppress. She may have whispered to herself, but it was practically inaudible.

"Hey."

At first, Kris was stubborn and did not listen to him, but she looked back up with a start when he nudged her shoulder. Silver gazed at her with a scowl. He was beyond tired of seeing her look so weak, and he _hated_ the dead disposition she was beginning to adapt. It looked too much like the apathy she once had, an apathy he would rather keep at bay.

"I meant what I said," he told her.

Kris hesitated, but replied softly, "...And I meant what I said, too."

"...What? And what did you say?"

The girl spent a few deadpan seconds staring at him. Her eyes glazed over with deep thought, and she unraveled her arms and legs a little, allowing her back to rest against the counter. She laced her fingers as she usually would and looked blankly at the opposite wall. Silver, though a little annoyed, had no choice but to wait and see if she would respond.

She did. Turning back to him, she smiled sadly.

"You don't understand."


	4. Chapter 4: Hiatus

Compared to how quickly I got the first three chapters out, this is quite the delay, but school's out of the way for now. This chapter is a little odd but entertaining, and perhaps could be called the calm before the storm... It's only a matter of "time".

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 4**  
Hiatus

That confusing and uncomfortable conversation soon became a distant Wednesday.

The event, however, left Silver with a rather unsettled aftertaste. From what he could assume, Gold was only suffering from some kind of vague amnesia, but Kris had behaved as though it was the end of the world. The boy might as well have been dead, from the way she worded it. It was evermore vexing when Silver considered the fact that the girl was barely acquainted with Gold. What was there to be upset about when a stranger loses his memory, when there are no memories with you to be lost? A spot of pity or sympathy was common reaction, but hers was over the top. If there was some hidden, deeper meaning behind it all, he never delved that far into it. In the end, Kris refused to give any further details about Gold's condition or her feelings about it.

Afterward, she did not openly mourn over Gold again, but she carried a significant meekness in her smile. In an effort to get it off her mind, Silver had offered to take her to other cities in Johto or Kanto the next time they met. Kris had attempted to tease him about this act of compassion, but she refused, reasoning that she did not want to leave Dani behind. Apparently, Dani wandered off quite often, and Kris had no choice but to wait for her to return. Silver himself still had not caught sight of Dani and he began to wonder if she was intentionally avoiding him. Kris laughed at the idea.

The frequency of their meetings quickly crawled to a stop. Silver saw Kris at the Indigo Plateau on Mondays and Wednesdays for a brief battle, and that was about it. There were a few rare occasions when Silver ran into her on the weekends, but the two never had the chance to approach each other. Kris would continue her busy life as always, and he would watch her from a distance for reasons that never crossed his mind.

Sooner or later, rumors spread that Kris had completed her Pokédex. At least, for the first two-hundred fifty-one; it was likely that she decided against completing the entire thing. No, she had probably given that up long ago.

Silver guessed that he had witnessed that final Pokémon evolve—a Pupitar into the terribly powerful Tyranitar—because since then, he had not seen Kris whatsoever. After her breakdown on the second floor, he often searched the Indigo Plateau all over in the case she was hiding away somewhere. Why? It seemed unnecessary, strangely obsessive of him even, but he honestly had nothing better to do. At the Dragon's Den and during weekends, he had an agenda and things to do, but not at the Indigo Plateau. He could only sit around and think, which ultimately led to thinking of Kris. She was the only thing he found interesting nowadays.

But his efforts were in vain; Kris was nowhere to be found, and she had committed another vanishing act that would last for some undetermined amount of time.

He really hated it when she did that.

It was only on one uneventful Sunday, when Silver entered the Goldenrod City Magnet Train Station (he had a pass, but the train was usually under adjustments; today was no different), when he realized that he had Kris's Poké Gear number. He nearly smacked himself for forgetting the obvious thing he could have done a while ago, and he mumbled curses to himself as he sat down on one of the sleek plastic chairs. Calling her had not worked before, but he could at least give it a try. He whipped out his Poké Gear and selected her number, waiting as the high-pitched, 8-bit ringing commenced.

This time, to his surprise, Kris picked up. A timid quiet passed; she was likely waiting for him to answer, but Silver decided to let her talk first for once.

"...Hello?" she eventually asked.

At least she doesn't sound depressed, Silver thought as he responded, "Where have you been? I haven't seen you in weeks."

"Silver! I'm sorry. I tried to call you, but... my phone just won't let me."

"Humph." Weird, but what wasn't about Kris? "Where are you?"

"I'm at my house. I completed the Pokédex a while ago, and Dani and I decided to... take a break for a while."

"So you really completed it? Congrats."

"Oh, thanks... It's only the first two-hundred fifty-one, but Professor Oak's satisfied enough."

Somehow or other, Kris brought up the topic of whether or not he wanted want to come over, basically inviting him to visit whenever he wanted. Without anything to do and at Kris's unusually persistent encouragement, Silver gave in and took down the directions she described.

"Okay, I'll see you soon then," he said, feeling a little funny as he released his Crobat.

The Poké Gear beeped in response, telling him that the call had already ended without any parting words from Kris.

Well, it was not really a surprise. That was Kris for you.

* * *

The flight to New Bark Town was extremely quick. On foot it may have taken him an hour if he rushed, but by air it literally took a minute or less. His Crobat seemed very proud of its speed.

As Silver scanned the small town, a drop of nostalgia made him feel slightly lightheaded. It had felt so very long ago—and it was—when he was spying through the window at Professor Elm's Laboratory, preparing to commit the heinous act of thievery in order to receive his first Pokémon. He was stubborn, mean, and power-hungry back then; he frowned in distaste as he remembered his first meeting with Kris, in which he shoved her away from him. She, conversely, had a much more innocent composure, but her strange behavior was still there; even when he pushed her, she did not speak.

But he could clearly recall his first feeling of hatred—jealousy—toward her. When he had witnessed Kris receive her Chikorita as soon as she walked into the lab, his determination to steal a Totodile had quickly changed to stealing the Cyndaquil, whose fire-type would give him the advantage to utterly defeat the girl's Pokémon. Meeting with Kris at Cherrygrove City afterward had been a total coincidence, but he had found it a perfect way to take out his envious frustration on her. But he lost outright; even in a _one-on-one_ battle when _he_ had the advantage, Kris _still _managed to defeat him. She was not even experienced in battling at that point, yet it made no difference; Kris adored her Chikorita, while Silver scolded his Cyndaquil when it had trouble defeating a Sentret in its first battle on Route 29.

"I was such a little dumbass," Silver muttered to himself, running his fingers through his hair. It was getting quite long and untamed, and he had been letting it almost cover his eye ever since those days. Kris had complimented on his hair before, but suggested that he take care of it better. Of _course_ it was not because of her that he considered changing it—maybe even getting it trimmed a tiny bit. He was different from the foolish child he had once been, and a new haircut would signify the changed person that he was.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned around toward the house behind him, which was bigger than all the others except for the laboratory. Curiously, there was a sign posted beside it, and he raised an eyebrow at what it displayed. He was not sure what to think of it, but it was at least vaguely amusing.

_"KRIS's House"_

"Well, _that's_ convenient." At this, he approached the front door. The doorknob seemed to stick for a few seconds, but he managed to push it open and step inside.

Brown. The walls were brown, the living room furniture was a light oak and the floor was also wood. Since Kris was a girl who wore nothing but bright colors, this neutral shade was the last thing Silver expected to see. The only things that were not this color were a TV and a woman sitting at the table watching it.

But the woman dressed in colors far off from brown. Covering an orange dress was a typical white apron decorated with red and yellow diamonds, and a bright red headband held her hair away from her face. The woman's strange hairstyle, consisting of looped twin ponytails and a lock of bangs looming over her forehead, surprised Silver at first. But upon rethinking it, her welcoming oddity _proved_ that she was related to Kris—and had probably been an influence behind Kris's pigtails.

During this time Silver spent observing the scenery, she had noticed his presence and was staring at him in a rather curious manner. She remained silent, however, as she waited for him to speak. There was no denying it; she was _definitely_ Kris's mother.

"...I'm here to see Kris. Do you know where she is?" he asked. He felt considerably awkward, suspecting that the woman would take the situation in the wrong way. After all, a guy visiting a girl without notice might seem... suspicious to a parent, one could say.

She seemed pleasantly curious about his question, but she smiled. With a casual turn, she pointed a delicate finger toward the staircase across the room and returned to watching the television. Silver felt rooted in place for a few seconds, but shook off any hesitation, striding past her and ascending the wooden staircase. It was narrow and took two sharp turns before opening up to the second floor, which was a single vast room.

Silver stopped again, glancing around before his eyes settled on Kris's figure. Surrounded by a healthy potted plant, an azure polka-dot bed, a gigantic (and very fluffy) Snorlax doll that almost reached the ceiling, a decently sized red and white rug, and various other colorful things, Kris sat at the low-rise table in the very middle of it all. She had her arms folded, her head resting on the table, and a Pikachu doll nestled in her lap. Fatigue had been erased from her face, a first in a long time, but she had an amusing expression of dissatisfaction as she stared blankly out the window. Her Poké Gear had been placed on the table beside her, and a faint ticking from the wall clock served as the only sound in the room.

"You bored?" he asked.

Her shoulders twitched, and she turned toward him in light shock, earning him a smirk. At once, Kris raised her head and straightened her posture, smiling back. "A little," she replied. "Was it obvious?"

"Pretty much. How long have you been in here?"

"I'm bad at keeping track of time. ...How long has has it been since we last battled?"

Silver had a feeling how she was going to respond next, but he answered her question anyway. "About three weeks, maybe a month."

"Three weeks to a month, then," she responded. The grin on her face shriveled a little, as though she had honestly not realized she had spent a month cooped up in her room.

He grew skeptical, twisting his face. "The _whole_ time? Why? Is it because of Dani?"

Kris nodded and shrugged simultaneously. "I told you on the phone that Dani and I split up... I'm not used to going places without her."

"Humph, you don't need her to do what you want to do. If you want to do something, just _do_ it. No one should stop you."

"I guess."

Upon the odd quiet that passed between them, Silver sighed and rolled his eyes. She had not changed a bit, at least.

The clock struck six, ringing softly. He glanced outside at the nighttime scenery, which was almost pitch black and would have swallowed the room with darkness if not for the light fixture above. Wanting to break the silence, he faced her again. "Do you have anything to eat or drink around here? I haven't eaten since morning."

"...Oh. Oh, sure!" Kris stood, placing her doll on the table and retrieving her Poké Gear. She paused for a moment, almost reconsidering it, but she put it around her neck and walked over to him. A cheerful radiance played across her face as she passed by, grateful to have a guest and chase the boredom away. "My mother should be cooking by now. She won't mind if we eat up here; she usually delivers dinner to me."

"Well, look who's spoiled. I'm surprised you're actually going downstairs; I thought you didn't like to move about without Dani," he teased as he turned to follow.

She glanced back at him, eventually grinning. "Come on, I can at least move around my own _house_ by myself."

When they reached the first floor, the room paled without the bright silhouette of Kris's mother, though there was a magenta doormat randomly placed at the door. They walked through the living room and into the kitchen, which unsurprisingly had brown walls and counters. As Kris had told him, her mother was at the stove, and a small pile of burgers and hamburger buns rested on the counter beside her. Kris fetched a bottle of fresh water and a cup of lemonade from the pure white refrigerator, and Silver took them as she insisted on preparing the food. Not caring either way, Silver shrugged and watched as the mother and daughter worked in silence.

Although being soft-spoken seemed to be an inherited trait, he could sense a kind of awkwardness to the atmosphere between them. Kris had been busy being a Pokémon Trainer for a while; now that she was home again, it was probably difficult slipping back into the normal routine they once shared. Silver watched this with a small sense of unusual loneliness. He did not remember his own family, and had perhaps suppressed the memories long ago to the point where they did not exist anymore. Even if he tried to remember, he suspected he would recall why he wanted to forget in the first place. Kris's father was no where to be seen, but she had a nurturing mother, eccentric as she was.

"Mom...! Wh-What was that about?"

It was then that he noticed Kris's mother giving him a sly grin, and Kris staring at her in disbelief. Kris's cheeks were no doubt turning redder than the shirt on her back, and she snatched the plates before hurrying past him.

Silver had no idea what had had occurred, especially since the communication had mostly been body language, but he raised an eyebrow at the woman to express his puzzlement. Kris's mother simply winked and turned back to the stove, waving him away. Silver yielded a shrug and headed back for Kris's room, ignoring the strange feeling stirring in his gut the more he thought of it. When he reached the top of the stairs, he found Kris searching for a second controller to the gaming system hooked up to her television.

"So what was _that_ about?" he asked, causing her jittery hands to drop the spare controller. She glanced at him and picked it back up, plugging it in.

"...Nothing. Sh-She just surprised me. Usually we only talk about the time or how well I'm doing with my money." Even as she said this, she kept herself busy as she searched through her desk and pulled out three box-like game cartridges.

"Like I couldn't tell," Silver replied sarcastically. "But she seems nice."

"Yes... She makes really awesome hamburgers. They're her specialty, but a little spicy."

"I'm fine with spicy." He placed the drinks on the table and gawked at the gray game console at his feet, grabbing a plate and sitting down beside Kris on the red-whte rug. "Damn, is that a _NES_?"

Kris nodded as she took a sip of lemonade and turned on the TV. "Yes. I've had it for a while."

"That thing's _ancient_. Don't you have a Nintendo 64 or something? Being the Champion, I assume you're wealthy enough to buy a pretty nice one."

"...Well, actually Gold and I had been trying to get one for a while."

Silver clicked his tongue. "Well, looks like he can't do that anymore, can he?" he said, taking a bite out of the burger. As he chewed and savored the tingling hot flavor on his tongue, he became aware of Kris's lack of response. He nearly dreaded looking at her face, knowing that what was there would send him on some kind of guilt trip, but he did so anyway. Kris's expression was a little less sorrowful than he first expected, but a grave frown plagued her face as she stared at the floor with a furrowed brow. (Damn it, how come she was so easy yet so difficult to read?) Deciding to do something about it other than apologizing—since he was not sorry at all—he grabbed Kris's plate and forced it into her hands.

She jumped a little and looked at him, slightly distressed. "What?"

"Don't let it get cold," he told her. He took the spare controller and changed the subject. "So what kind of games do you have on this thing?"

"Well...um...only four. I have _The Legend of Zelda_, _Super Mario Brothers_, _Kirby's Adventure_, and _Donkey Kong_. I've been playing Zelda for a while; that one's my favorite." To elaborate her point, she took out the gold-shaded cartridge that was already embedded in the NES, which was indeed _The Legend of Zelda_. She placed it with the other three and began eating her burger.

"Funny. I thought your favorite would be Kirby."

Kris blinked in confusion. "Why?" she asked once she had swallowed her first bite.

"Because you're a girl, obviously. And that girly Jigglypuff poster over there no doubt reminds me of Kirby."

After giving his shoulder a light and playful shove, she grabbed another cartridge, blew on it for good measure, and stuck it in the game system. "We're playing Mario, since that's the only one I have that allows us both to play... Not at the same time, though."

"Humph, this'll be easy. I won't be beaten by you this time," he claimed with a sneer.

She attempted to mimic him, although it resulted in a small smile as she turned on the NES. "We'll see. I'll be Mario."

"Fine. You play first." Putting down his controller, he proceeded to lounge back and grab his bottle of water with a composed atmosphere.

As he lazily watched her, ready to make fun of her at any mistake she made, it occurred to him that she was not just skilled at anything Pokémon related. By the time Kris had lost a life, she had already passed through three Worlds. Obviously, she had been doing more than just sit around in her room for the past month. Silver still had confidence that he would do just as well as her, but his lack of experience stirred his frustration with ease.

"SON OF A _BITCH!_" he yelled abruptly as his mistimed jump landed Luigi into a Winged Koopa. "That barely even _touched_ me!"

Kris, meanwhile, was crouched over on the floor, laughing the hardest he had ever seen her laugh. Tears were overflowing from her eyes as she gasped for breath, and she could barely even make eye contact with Silver's ticked-off face before starting another fit of giggles. And though Silver would have secretly enjoyed seeing her like this, the fact that the subject of her laughter was his failure made him undoubtedly annoyed.

The redhead sighed loudly; he had enough. "Humph! Stop _laughing_ already. It's because I'm not playing as Mario that I'm not doing well. Give me your controller!"

Having a hard time containing her laughter, Kris made a silly grin as she grabbed her controller before he could. "N-No, you can't change it now. _I'm _Mario!"

"Why do you want to be Mario so damn much?" he asked in a demanding tone due to his sour attitude.

"Because Lyra looks like him!" She continued to snicker and giggle, even more so when she answered him.

Silver maintained his frown. "Who the hell is Lyra?"

The laughter stopped almost instantly, leaving Kris's face hidden in the rug as she caught her breath. It seemed she did not intend to let the name slip out. "Oh... Uh..." She sat up, fixing her bangs as she simpered. "That's kind of a long story..."

"I have time," he returned stolidly, grabbing his half-full bottle and throwing an expectant glare at her.

Kris's previous smile deflated as she avoided his eyes. She checked her hair blindly, trying to find the words to make her eventual response. "How...How do I put it...?"

"Whatever comes to your mind first."

Her blank stare succumbed further, revealing an expression of deep thought. A smile returned to her face, however, as she looked back at him. "She's the female heroine from the HeartGold and SoulSilver Pokémon games."

"...What?" Silver's guard dropped slightly, taken aback. "And what's that?"

"They're actually remakes of the popular Gold, Silver, and Crystal games that came out a while ago... They're based in Johto and include well-known Trainers like Red and the Gym Leaders, and you go around training and battling Pokémon." Kris paused, but upon Silver's silence telling her to continue, she did. "In Gold, Silver, and Crystal—well, just in Crystal—the female protagonist was designed to look like me, but in HeartGold and SoulSilver, the female protagonist is a girl that's almost dressed like Mario. Her name is Lyra. Since the storyline is all the same, I thought it was funny to play as Mario. So..."

Silver let his jaw hang loose for a while, but it snapped shut as he frowned again. "You didn't pull that out of your ass, did you?"

"No!" she denied. "You wanted the truth, so I gave it to you... And if it makes you feel any better, the 'rival' character in all of the games look like you."

"_Me?_ I don't remember giving _anyone_ permission to put me in a video game. Have you always known about this?" he asked accusingly.

Kris shook her head. "No... To be honest, I was really upset about Lyra being in the new games. I really hoped I would be put in there, but Dani said I wasn't..."

"Hey." Suspicion again flooded through his mind as he asked, "Is that why you were crying about being 'replaced' before?" She looked pained remembering the experience, but made a very subtle nod. Silver rolled his eyes impatiently. "God, that's stupid, even for you. It's _only _a video game."

"Yes, but... I don't mind as much anymore. She's not that bad; she's like a successor to me."

"Humph," he said, shrugging it off. "Where were these games even released? I've never seen them at any Department Store."

The girl looked clueless at first, but upon further pondering, she guessed, "Someplace called Japan, the USA, and a lot of other countries..."

"Never heard of them."

"Neither have I," she agreed, picking up her half-empty glass. "But I think Dani lives in one of those places."

"Damn..." Silver pulled out his Poké Gear and switched to the map feature. "Come to think of it, I've only seen maps for Johto and Kanto. It's like this whole country is just sheltering us from the outside world."

As he messed with the map on his phone, the clock above them ticked loudly. A brief second of dead silence followed, as if it had delayed, and then began to ring eleven times. Soon it would be time for him to leave for the Indigo Plateau as always, and he—.

His train of thought was ripped off its tracks as a splash of yellow lemonade speckled his pants, followed by a cup bouncing to the floor with a soft clatter. A strained moan alerted him to Kris, who was bent over and holding her head. She swayed occasionally with a drowsy expression on her face, and Silver stashed away his Poké Gear as he focused his attention on her.

"Hey, what's wrong? You don't look so good."

Delaying her response, she turned to him with a sleepy stare. A hand was clutched around her own Poké Gear, pressed against her chest to fabricate a sense of security. "...I'm fine... I just hiccuped at first, but I feel really woozy... It's been happening lately, don't worry. I'll get better soon..."

"How helpful. If this sticks to my subconscious for the rest of the week, thanks a _lot_," he replied dryly, moving to feel her forehead. "Are you okay now, at least?"

"Yes. Tired...but otherwise fine," she tried to reassure him. She sat up straight and smiled weakly, but she tipped back and forth. "Oh gosh, never mind, dizzy..."

Seeing as how it was either Silver or the rug damp with spilled lemonade, Kris limply leaned against the boy's shoulder. Silver was close to pulling away out of instinct, but managed to stay frozen in place. He put on a peculiar expression that was a mixture between annoyance and embarrassment. Fortunately for him, Kris did not look up at him. With a inward sigh, he placed a soft hand on her shoulder to steady her.

"Thanks for the warning," he grumbled.

"Sorry..."

In order to keep away the persistent awkward silence, Silver asked, "So why are those games named like that?"

"Games...?"

"The ones about us."

"Oh," she answered belatedly. "The names relate to you, me, and Gold..."

"But why did they tack on 'Heart' and 'Soul' in the remakes? It sounds weird."

"You know...heart of gold... Put your 'heart' and 'soul' into it," Kris said in a near mumble, appearing distinctly tired. Perhaps it was not only because of the sudden episode of dizziness, but also the hours she had spent together with Silver. The two had been playing on the NES non-stop since he arrived, and Kris was ecstatic the entire time, so it was inevitable that she would eventually run out of energy.

"Oh. That reminds me of another phrase I've heard of. Put your 'mind' to it. If they ever remade that Crystal game too, they could use that."

"...I doubt it," she said, snuggling her head on his shoulder.

Silver resisted squirming, but he was unable to stop his face from heating up. "Humph. Do you plan on using me as a pillow or something?"

"...Maybe."

"Good luck on that; I leave in less than an hour."

"You're not staying?" she asked him quietly.

"Tomorrow's Monday. That's my schedule, you know that." He took a sip from his water bottle. "And you know how much I like sticking to it. Aside from that, I'm not comfortable spending the night here with you. I think your mom's getting the idea that we're going out or something."

Kris did not respond for some time. Just as Silver began to wonder if she had fallen asleep, a soft laugh escaped the girl. She smiled sleepily, though that sleepiness made it impossible to decipher what kind of emotion went with it. "I get it now... I had forgotten... I escaped from reality thanks to you. You're the only one that treats me like what I'm not. For a while...I really believed it."

Silver narrowed his eyes, but raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? This _is_ reality."

"This is our reality...but not 'their' reality," she murmured, "so that's why neither realities realize that the other exists...except for me..."

"Is there something weird in that lemonade? You're not making any sense."

"...And that's just it. You can't understand," she said in a serene, accepting sort of way.

"You said that before," Silver told her. "Why can't I understand?"

"If you haven't figured it out by now...then you'll never believe me..."

"Try me," he dared.

A brief moment later, Silver felt her relax her shoulders. No reply came. Putting on a scowl, he leaned over slightly to check if she had really fallen into a slumber. She had, quite peacefully at that, and her face contained a soft smile. He sighed and picked up her NES controller, managing to play in silence with his arm around her. The Winged Koopas still pissed him off beyond end—and don't get him started on those hammer-throwing turtles—but he eventually got though an entire World without losing a life. (Figures he would do better when she wasn't watching.)

When midnight began closing in, he tackled the issue of moving her to a proper sleeping spot. She was surprisingly light and apparently a deep sleeper, since she did not stir once when he moved her onto the blue polka-dot bed. He sighed when the deed was done, turning away to clean up the mess they made before he left.

"Of course I can't understand her," he muttered. "Just what is going on in that head of hers?"

He felt his sleeve snag, and he looked over his shoulder. Kris, still wearing her warm, tired grin, let go once she had attained his attention. The girl softly moved her lips, and a whisper trailed out of them.

"Thanks for staying over...should do it again sometime..." As though she had only woken up for the purpose of telling him that, she almost instantly fell back asleep.

Silver watched her for a brief moment afterward, even as the clock struck twelve.

He smiled back, grabbed the plates and cups, turned off the light, and headed downstairs.

* * *

Author's Note: ...I think I just wrote a bit of fluff there. But anyways, the NES part was fun to write. Since I've never played a Nintendo in my life (or I just don't remember), I got some help for that part. The four games she has, however, appear in Pokémon Stadium 2 on the room feature if your Gold/Silver/Crystal game has a NES set up in their room. Since it was likely no one would get that, I had to at least mention it.

Now... Would you like to see the world from Kris's point of view...one more time?


	5. Chapter 5: Game

This chapter was quite a challenge, and it reveals a lot concerning Kris. Some of you have your theories about her, and some of you—much like Silver—have no idea. You shall see in due time.

Due to length, I had to split the original chapter in half and change the chapter limit from seven to eight. This one is the longest yet, and it would've been even more of a monster if I hadn't done that. I kind of have to scramble to figure out what to title the last chapter, but eh. I'll figure it out.

Now... Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 5  
**Game

Kris had only slept for a couple of hours. At least, that was what she could guess. She rarely slept well as of late, especially on this particular night. Her heart would not stop beating like a hummingbird; the way she had been carried to her bed embarrassed her, to say the least.

She scanned her room restlessly. It was still dark outside, and, most notably, Silver had left. He was considerate enough to clean up, she saw, but that made it look as though he was never there.

"Huh," she sighed. The girl laced her fingers and rested them on her chest, staring up at the ceiling.

It was not a surprise to her in the least, but she felt disappointed. She enjoyed Silver's company very, very much. Never before had she genuinely spent time with someone like that, and she could not wait to do it again. She found herself with a silly grin whenever it crossed her mind. (Perhaps her mother's sly notion was not far from the truth, because Kris _was_ quite fond of him, not that she was brave enough to admit it yet.) A euphoric part of her had wished that he would stick around, while the rueful part prepared for the inevitable letdown.

After all, Silver was correct; it was Monday. To him, it was because he had a schedule to follow. To her, it was because he unknowingly had to abide by the world's rules.

Or...did he really have to?

Kris shivered and, by mislead intuition, glanced at the doorway on the other side of the room. No one was there, and she was only accompanied by the prolonged ticking of her clock. Even though she knew best that he would not return, she yearned for it in vain. To distract herself from this, she explored her mind and wandered, almost hurriedly, down memory lane.

Her room's decor was adorable in her opinion, and she took pride in and adored it with special care. But she had once hated it. She remembered the situation, which was much like the one she was in now: Dani had left and, not knowing when she would return, Kris remained in her room for the longest stretch of time she had ever experienced. She welcomed the solitude at first, since she was exhausted from her travels, but that did not last for long. Without anything to communicate with, she grew restless from a feeling she could not recognize. The recurring emotion swelled and whittled down her optimism, and she did all she could to avoid it. She played video games obsessively, reorganized the item inventory in her computer multiple times, and tried to sleep away the rest of the time.

This mental conflict went on a while longer until she figured out what that terrible feeling was. It had been loneliness, gained through her isolation, which had not been voluntary in the first place.

She certainly had been lonely.

Kris bitterly recalled how her happiness had been short-lasting, and how she had learned to be grateful for Dani to be around. Without her, Kris would sit wherever she left her, waiting any length of time. She could not talk to anyone, and no one talked to her, but she had always waited patiently. And even though Kris was horrible at keeping track of time, she had figured out a way to at least get an estimation of how long Dani was gone. The indication was how Dani's voice matured, assuming that she thought out loud or talked to a friend—the more it changed, the more years it had been since the beginning.

It had been about nine long years, and Kris was around the same (literal) age that Dani was when they had met. Dani was now a fine young lady and had no reason to keep playing with Pokémon. Only a child did that...right? Was that right?

Knowing that Dani's future meant less time with her, Kris had prepared for the worst. But without warning, Dani returned, rescuing Kris from the lonesome torture of her room. She worked for hours on end with Kris to fill up pages in her Pokédex, battling the Elite Four a hundred times over to do so, and even Mystery Gifting to earn the very bed Kris was lying on now. Kris, still being pessimistic, put a cap on her joy brought about by this. She had suspected that it would not last long, but she could find no other outlet for pleasure and relief. Everything that was once interesting had faded away into redundancy, and she cared little for anything anymore. She grew excessively tired no matter how much she slept, and was unable to indulge in sleep for very long when she did. Perhaps her fate would have been less tragic that way—she would not have cared much. She had even wished to follow Gold, if it meant destroying the desolation, dullness, and everything that constricted her.

The remembrance of that time made Kris shake her head. She had really been a hopeless thing, a lonely soul that obeyed and waited like a good girl of her kind.

Still, she had tried to enjoy it while it lasted: she even battled with Silver for extra experience and perhaps for old time's sake. Her interest in him had almost diminished by then, for even Silver had reached the end of his individuality; he was just like everyone else, telling her the same exact thing and doing the exact same thing. But she had always found him interesting. Kris had hoped for something more to happen with him—for she desired to know him better—but her knowledge squeezed that hope into a corner. She took to observing him as much as she could, searching for the faintest fluctuation of emotion on his face, the maybe-proof that he was like her too.

It was not long after when that day came, on that Monday when Dani had left her in the Indigo Plateau. Silver had approached and _talked_ to her, going far off-script for the very first time.

Why did he do that only then? What inspired him to do that _at that very moment?_ It was just a whim, an incredible whim that could have happened far earlier or even never. Something so simple was a miracle to Kris. Just like that, the rickety routine and silence had been broken. He became a friend, her first true friend, and maybe more to her. She was so grateful to him, matching her gratitude toward Dani.

The navy cloak of night was cast aside, and a bright yellow veil of sunlight filled the room with radiance.

Kris blinked as the walls glowed warmly. It was four in the morning. She, at least, could tell that much without a clock.

"He couldn't have known all that time, could he?" she asked herself. She sat up, yawning and stretching her arms and legs. Her eyes glanced over to the NES. The first controller rested beside the second, the cords twisting around each other. "No, he _couldn't_ know," she denied, closing her eyes and shaking her head.

The red-haired boy sure was something, though. He had broken the boundaries between them and was re-writing her definition of reality as she knew it...and all without realizing it himself.

When Silver had talked to Kris, he had frightened the life out of her; Dani was not present, yet Silver was right _there_. Kris did not converse with others, yet Silver pushed her to speak. She had never even touched the yellow cushions, yet she and Silver sat on them and had their first conversation. Kris was not supposed to have more than ten numbers on her PokéGear, and yet Silver grabbed it and put in an eleventh without an issue. She was unable to call him, yet Silver could call her. She could not leave the room Dani left her in, yet she was_ able _to simply because Silver was hungry. She was meant to wait alone, no matter how much it hurt her and drove her insane. Yet Silver visited her, and the loneliness was gone.

Was _she_ was the one putting limits on herself?

"But we are..." Her gentle voice trailed off, and she gazed at the morning light that touched her skin.

Kris had always assumed that she was not meant to feel anything, too, just by the rule of the world. Yet because of Silver, she was beginning to feel the right to be free to do as she wanted. Her heart was in consistent motion, and had been since the very beginning. When she thought about it, she was taken aback at everything that she had experienced and was experiencing. Love, hate, courage, fear, strength, weakness, happiness, sorrow, surprise, boredom, hope, despair, the joy of life and even the fear of death. She had felt it all.

It was as though...she was alive, and yet she was lessening herself as something insignificant. She thought she had known everything about their world, but Silver knew so much more about the life within it. Could that be possible?

After spacing out for some time, Kris eventually smiled.

"If it weren't for Dani, though, my reality wouldn't exist," she said, deliberately thinking out loud. It filled the silence and voiced her opinion to the world, even if it went unheard. "I wouldn't even be myself, because Dani put her heart and soul into me...and she put her mind to complete it the most she could. Of all the billions of people in her reality, of all the things in her individual life, _she_ chose me...and this world."

She turned and slipped off her bed, picking up the Pikachu doll, the final doll she had received with Dani a month previous. Her arms lifted it in the air over her head, and Kris's smile was sweetened with nostalgia.

"Thank you, Dani. I would give anything to live in your always-changing world, or at least live in a world where I'm free to do whatever I want. But now... I'm with Silver. I'm happy. I think I'll be okay now. You probably don't even know I exist like I do, but that's okay. These are different realities. I need...I need to accept my own reality. So thank you."

The Pikachu remained silent, giving her the ever-present grin stitched on its face. The clock struck five, but curiously it only rang once.

It was then that she began to feel inexplicably lightheaded.

Kris was frozen in place, unable to breathe until it sputtered a second contorted chime. She fell to her knees and leaned on the low-rise table, breathing as calmly as she could. Panic trembled in her heart as her body began to ache. She let go of her doll and raised her free hand, her fingers bumping against the odd warm plastic of her PokéGear. Biting her lip, she grabbed and looked at the phone. Usually, when Dani was not around, Kris's PokéGear would not work—if it had, then she would be able to keep a slightly better track of time, given she did not sleep for a couple days straight.

Instead, the PokéGear was on and the time was displayed as "5:00AM" in faded colors. An ugly crack plagued the corner of the screen.

A look of horror rose on her face. Kris had been experiencing waves of dizziness and mild pain on occasion, but it had grown too severe too quickly. She lifted her head and turned toward the wall clock. The distinct second hand moved back and forth between five o' clock and one second afterward, occasionally making it to the next second. It could not keep up with time's relentless progress any longer.

The girl stared at it for a few seconds—or was it a minute? Or was it an hour? Or was it half a second? Or was it no time at all?—before her fright really burst. She shook her head, trembling as a painful wave of sleep attempted to take over her body.

"The...internal battery...? That...that's not fair. Why now? That's not fair!" she yelled at the dying clock, cringing as it released a slow third ring.

The internal battery: it was the core of her world and her life. When it died, she was not sure how but she assumed that it was the closest thing to death for her. How had she forgotten about Gold's fate, which would be hers in the end? She had never forgotten. There was no way she could forget, but she had pushed it into the back of her mind. Did she really want to believe Silver's reasoning because she wanted to suppress it that badly? Maybe.

But that was ridiculous, no matter how unjust the timing. That was simply denying reality. Silver just did not know anything; of course he did not know! Why did she believe him? Why did he mean so much to her...? !

A hot tear ran down Kris's face, and she glared at her PokéGear. With shaking hands, she navigated to the phone register. She held the device firmly as she scrolled through the names with bated breath.

His number was not there. She was already losing it before, but this just shoved it over the edge.

"Come _ON!_ Let me call him at least!" she cried, hardly able to even raise her hand high enough to pound the phone into the ground. "I have to tell him! Let...Let me call Silver! Just! This! _Once!_" She hiccuped lowered her head in defeat, sobbing softly. Without the clock's ticking, it was silent, so utterly silent. She hated it.

But she twitched, and her ears perked. Her PokéGear had begun to ring.

Wiping her watery eyes, Kris turned over her hand to see the cracked screen. It indicated not that she was calling _him_, but that he was calling _her._ Either way did not matter at this point; she just wanted to talk to him as soon as possible.

"Silver...?" she answered meekly. It was beginning to scare her how much weaker she had gotten within a matter of seconds...minutes...she did not care how long anymore.

"I'm surprised you answered," the boy's familiar voice replied. "Did I wake you up?"

"S...Silver, listen..."

He did not hear her that time. "...Whatever, I just wanted to tell you that my PokéGear is acting up for some reason. The clock isn't working; it's stuck at five o' clock. Weird thing is, the Indigo Plateau's clock has stopped too."

"Silver!" she made an effort to exclaim, which fortunately worked.

"_What?_" he asked, bothered and puzzled at the tone of her voice.

"I...I don't know how to say this...I c-can't really... It's not fair. It's not fair at all..."

A pause of some sort lasted for some period of time, and Silver finally sensed the urgency that Kris wanted to convey. "What's going on?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

"It...It looks like I'll end up like Gold a-after all. The internal battery, it's..."

The idea of telling him hurt her even more, but she _had_ to. Kris did not know how much longer she had or what would happen afterward. If the world went down with her, then he would at least know the truth he had always wanted to hear. But regarding Gold's condition, it was most likely that she was the only one that would be affected. So in that case, if she ended up as worse as she feared, then she could tell him in advance. That way, Silver would know why she will soon be staring blankly at a wall without reacting to anything he did, not even sparing him a glance...

A distant part of her hoped that he would somehow come to her rescue. (Yet what could he do?) But her hope was frail, trembling yet still there—much like she was.

"What are you _talking_ about, Kris? What happened? Are you feeling out of it again?" He sounded concerned. Did her condition last night really dwell on his mind that much? She would have felt a spot of pleasure from this, the warmth one felt from being cared about, but now she only felt guilty for burdening him.

"...The internal battery is dying. It...it can't keep time forever. I can feel it... cracking." Kris clenched the fabric of her shirt, for the aching of her chest crippled her the worst. "The clocks of this world have worked so hard... They tried to contain something from another reality, and now it's wearing down to pieces... and I'm suffering along with them."

"...Okay...? Look, you need to get some rest. You're not in your right mind."

"I _am!_ You just don't get it!" she managed to yell, frustrated beyond her crumbling reason. She knew he would not understand, but she had absolutely no patience for it now. "The internal battery...it's running dry _because_ of the clocks. It's probably not even the right time anymore...B-But you don't know that, right? You don't...you don't get it, Silver. You just can't understand. You _never_ understood...!"

The fourth chime decayed worse than the others, and the fault in the PokéGear spread across the screen. An excruciating blast of pain struck through her, and she cried out and collapsed to the floor. She did not have the energy to sit back up at this point, but she had fallen on her side so the phone was safely beside her.

Huh...? Why did she have her PokéGear? Her mother had taken it to the repair shop, hadn't she? Wait, what repair shop? No, that happened already, right? Didn't it...?

"What was that? What the hell's going on over there? ...Kris!"

Kris's head swirled in a confused mess of thoughts and memories, feeling distant and nauseous. Everything came back together upon hearing Silver, but the world was in a vague spin cycle around her. Seeing that her numb hand was still clasped around the PokéGear, she pulled it closer to her.

"I'm...still here," she replied. "Just fell over..."

"'Just fell over'? That's it. I'm going over there right now. You hang on, stay where you are, and don't do _anything_," Silver ordered. He feigned annoyance to neutralize the situation; he was getting worried for her well-being, which was honestly appropriate. "Got that?"

"That's..." She paused, resisting to give him any sign that she was crying. "Th-That's not possible, Silver..."

"And why is that?" His footsteps could be heard, as well as the clicking sound the double doors made when they were opened. However, it halted abruptly like they had been sealed shut. "...The hell? Is it locked?"

"See? You can't..." Kris fabricated a sad grin. "You can't because you were programmed to stay there on Mondays and Wednesdays."

"What do you mean _programmed_? I'm not a damn computer!" he retorted. She sighed at the sound of Silver slamming against the door. He sure was stubborn. He just did not get it, did he? After all of the hints she had hurled at him—the Pokémon from Hoenn and Sinnoh especially—he was still so oblivious. There was no choice but to tell him outright, which was what she had planned on in the first place.

"You know... the Pokémon Crystal game, right...?"

"Yeah, I remember that. What does that have to do with anything now? Damn it, open already!"

The girl took a deep breath, even though it physically hurt to do so.

"That's our world... We're in a video game, Silver."

* * *

Silver stopped, leaning against one of the doors in mid-push.

"...What?"

"We're...just characters in a game. Nothing more..."

Silver stared down at his phone. He looked, quite cautiously, over his shoulder at the pale pastel lobby. It was empty as it had always been. The exceptions were the usual nurse and the merchant, who would make for perfect non-player characters. A frigid chill washed over him; it downright unnerved him now perfectly it fit. Taking a step back, he twisted his face into a scowl. It was ridiculous; Kris was just not thinking straight. There was no way, no way that could be possible to him.

"What are you saying? This isn't a video game," he scolded.

"But it is," Kris responded softly. Despite the distant nature of her voice, she seemed to be struggling to retain her strength. "Why do you think that...you _have_ to go to the Indigo Plateau on Mondays and Wednesdays? When you want to stay, you still go anyways...and you make up excuses to make it sound normal. I see...that's why you've never figured it out. You treat this game like it's really reality..."

"Of course it's reality. That's my schedule. That's how I_ do _things."

"But you were programmed to do it..."

"Well then, does that mean everything I've done up to this point was all 'programmed' too?" Silver snapped. He charged into the door again, which felt like running into a brick wall. Just what condition was Kris in to make her say those things, he wondered. He had a sneaking suspicion that her apathy from before was beginning to return. That, if anything, pissed him off as much as it concerned him. If he had only stayed, he could snap her out of it more effectively than over the phone. She had been so happy when he left...

"...Yes." It was a very small reply; she did not seem very glad to admit it. Then why was she saying it? Did she really believe in such a sad existence?

"Humph, I won't believe that," he argued. "You've seen how I've changed, and I've changed because I _wanted_ to. And you're saying that all of it can simply be done all over again _exactly?_ Don't belittle everything like that!"

All he heard was a simple weak sigh.

His scowl began to shrink. As much as Silver hated to admit it, it made more sense the more he thought about it. Several things could actually be explained: why Kris never talked; why she _always_ won against him and everything she faced; why she did not want to go anywhere "alone"; why was not accustomed to doing the most human of things. She would be the heroine, who would become perfect once the game was finished at one-hundred percent. As for Dani...

"What," he began to ask her as he slammed against the door again, "about Dani then, Kris? You told me she was your friend. Who the hell is she? Another character?"

"No. She...She's our owner, the one who plays this game."

"Our _owner?_" His jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me? You mean she fucking _bought_ us at a _store_?"

"Yes, Silver. And... just to give you some perspective, Dani's restarted this game three times already. So...yes, I've _seen_ you do the same things three times in a row. How you stole your starter Pokémon... the places we've battled in... the way you've changed. It's always been the same. Given, she's kept this save file for a long time—."

"I don't believe that!" Silver shouted.

"—So we don't matter. This isn't real at all... It's not..."

A faint, cracking ring trailed through from her end.

"Shut up! Stop saying that! This world! Isn't! Fake! It's reality, damn it!" Silver again tried to open the doors of the Indigo Plateau, which simply refused to budge. He stopped to recover some of his strength, but he backed away and rebelliously pulled out a PokéBall. "Typhlosion! Fire Blast the door!"

There was an unusual delay before his Pokémon appeared before him. It stood fiercely in front of the doors at first, but looked back at him in puzzlement. Despite this, Silver gave him a fixed glare. He was aware of how drastic he was being, but he figured that the doors would not open even if he dragged the nurse over to unlock it. (Not to mention the nurse and the merchant had not even taken _notice _of Silver's predicament.) He was, very reluctantly, getting the sinking feeling that they were locked for good. But if he could not open them, then he would blast his way through. The Pokémon League could easily replace the doors—maybe it would convince them to redo the entire building—and he was willing to face the consequences. Kris, their Champion, was ill and needed help, so he figured they would instead thank him later once the emergency was resolved.

"You heard what I said, Typhlosion. We're breaking this door down!" He told his Pokémon, a little rough due to the situation. "Fire Blast!"

His Typhlosion nodded and turned back to the double doors. It made a strange face, as though trying to remember how to attack or even recall the technique ordered. But with a roar, it inhaled and spit an inferno of flames that struck its target head on. Before it could finish, it stopped prematurely. With a frightened yelp, it retreated to Silver's side. He looked at the fire Pokémon in surprise, for his loyal Typhlosion had never ran away so shamefully before, but the jaded and jagged image before them made him understand why it had.

The door, which was completely normal before, appeared as if it was being infested by numerous bugs that could only be described as 2-D blocks. They were so foreign and so distorted that they changed appearance and place every few seconds. But they did not expand, merely blinking and twisting about. The lights flickered violently, and all the colors around them inverted twice before finally stabilizing.

Feeling an instinctive fear, his Pokémon moved closer to Silver, who placed a hand on its back unconsciously. He stared at the blocks in total shock, unsure of what to do or how to even react. How _could_ one react at such a sight? Kris's words began seeping into his mind, breaking his doubt. She was not lying to him. She never lied. She had merely hid a lot of things for his sanity's sake.

Speaking of Kris, she had not replied for some time. As he realized this, it unnerved him. When he was able to move again, he immediately looked back down at his PokéGear.

"Kris?"

There was no response. The PokéGear was still connected; the clock claimed it to be 5:07AM, but he was certain it was not keeping the correct time any longer.

"Kris? Are you there? ...Answer me!" Silver exclaimed, clutching it in his trembling hand.

"...uh?"

"Good," he said, covering up his relief. If he started to panic, he was sure that would not help Kris—who seemed delirious enough—very much at all. "Are you okay?"

"...Silver? Is... that you...?"

"Yes, of course it is. I've been here the whole time."

"Really...? Oh... Oh, right. Right..." She sniffled. Silver averted his eyes even though she was not in front of him; she must have been crying. "What... are you doing...?"

"I'm still trying to open the door. I tried breaking it down with my Typhlosion, but it's not working. The door..." It was so hard to admit, but it was the truth. "It's glitched up."

"Oh..." She fell silent for a vague moment. "Silver... when did you get my phone number...?"

He went so stiff that he almost forgot to breathe. His past conversation with Kris about Gold made him lose the rest of his composed facade.

"Kris, you're not... having amnesia, are you?"

"...I'm sorry. I...I'm tired..." She made a sound that was both a gasp and a sob. "S-Silver, there's not... the internal battery is almost dried up now...

"That means I'm... I'm not going to remember anything anymore... But it doesn't matter... because this reality... is just a video games for kids. It's nothing compared to Dani's reality... I should have never...thought of it as anything more..."

"...About that, Kris," he said quietly, trying to keep their conversation alive. "There's something I need to tell you. Just because—."

The florescent lights, which were already struggling to stay lit, blinked and dimmed. Sensitive to what was around him now, Silver looked up and at the glitched doors. They remained relatively unchanged, though still crawling with blocks. It was at this time, however, that he noticed that his left hand was empty. His Pokémon had vanished.

"Typhlosion? Where are you? Don't hide!"

"...Silver."

"What, Kris? What now?" he asked, still glancing around in desperate search. "Typhlosion!"

"It's...the end." Kris's quivering voice was fading away. "I loved being able to talk to you... Thanks."

"No! You idiot, don't give up that easily!"

_Click!_ _Beep, beep, beep..._

The connection went dead along with his PokéGear. The light around him fizzled and popped as though someone were playing with the light switch. And as if they had finally gotten bored with it, the entire lobby was engulfed in nothingness. With that, Silver was stripped of all his senses and felt his consciousness melting away.


	6. Chapter 6: Salvage

Ideas just spin in my head whenever I brainstorm for this story. There's a lot that can be written about, a lot that can happen, and many point of views that can be taken. It's a lot of work, and I get stuck at times, but it's truly a lot of fun!

This chapter was of no exception. Editing it was ridiculous. Every time I would revise it, I'd write or replace entire paragraphs. And it's my personal policy to wait a day before revising one last time for typos before uploading the chapter. So...that was a lot of waiting. I'm extremely cautious with not making mistakes, perhaps too much. XD

Derp, these chapters have been getting longer. I'll try to fix that for future chapters. Eheh...

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 6**  
Salvage

By the time he was able to open his eyes again, all was quiet. A grainy blue-gray sky was pinned up above the trees. Nothing moved. It was static like an old photograph, its colors worn and faded with age.

The boy stared blankly. He was empty. His senses had been depressed into a daze, and he was unable to move or feel at all. Any desire he might have had was petrified, and he was hardly aware that he was even alive. He did not experience thirst or hunger, for food and water were an unwitting farce, not a necessity for him. A pestering lock of scarlet hair hovered over his line of sight, but he was too fatigued to brush it aside. He did not do anything for a long while, his gaze wandering lazily, aimlessly.

In the meantime, his surroundings slept in peace. It felt surreal, if he was able to reflect upon it. Time had stood entirely still, or had abandoned the world altogether.

Slowly, very slowly he grew more conscious. He flexed his fingers, which caught the prickly blades of grass below him. He found that he was resting his back against a wall, but he was not sure since he could not see the building and had no energy to turn around. Logic seemed to have stuck to him like a pre-planned instinct. The individual names of things within the world were recognizable, but the peculiarity of the situation did not strike him just yet.

He took to closing his eyes. Finding the fake warmth of darkness more soothing than his stone-gray surroundings, he decided to keep them that way for a while.

His ambivalent mind started to pick up the things he had previously thought of. It worked at a sluggish pace, collecting a bit at a time. But he would forget whatever he managed to recall, making the effort pointless. He may have allowed this process to go on for an hour, or even a week, but since he did not remember anything, he saw very little point in rushing when he did not feel like being rushed and had no reason to rush in the first place. He was content with himself.

On the contrary, he soon realized that he was not content at all. Although he had no recollection of anything, a feeling of uncertainty remained in his frozen heart. It kept him awake—it may have even been the cause of his awakening.

What was it? What was he was supposed to know?

He opened his eyes again. There was no one around him, and no urgency could be interpreted in the peaceful environment. Still, it gave off an unsettling aura he could not understand. The fact that he could not comprehend this only made him anxious.

"A girl," his inaudible voice exhaled the words.

His subconscious nagged at him, telling him that this girl was in trouble. She needed someone to be there for her, but who _was_ she? He strained his mind, hoping for an answer to calm him down. The effort was not nearly enough; even the tiniest vision of this vague girl slipped out of his grasp. He came close to knowing her features—the faint sound of her voice, the color of her dangling locks of hair, the first syllable of her name, the time he had spent with her—but the memories would be snatched away before he could engrave it into his mind. It was a futile, vicious cycle that only escalated the boy's discomfort. Had he not closed his eyes, and had he not let his mind revive, then he would not be worrying over some person that was probably nonexistent. He did not know her as far as he knew, but that was not much to say considering he did not know anyone.

Who are you, girl? You're important or something, somehow, but I don't remember you. I don't remember you at all, but I feel like I should know you well. But that doesn't make sense. I'm not the type to trust people in the first place. It's only a sign of weakness... Aside from that, I don't even know if you _exist_. You could just be someone I thought up in a dream.

Why are you so... special despite that?

A heavy sigh puffed out of him. He decided to resign from this frustrating guessing game, in which none of his questions could be left answered. A tenacious sense of yearning tingled within him, but his thoughts finally came to a rest. The silent peace prevailed, and he felt himself drifting off, the utter peace subduing him gently.

He could not determine how long he had been there. Time was omnipresent and fickle; it would move slowly if you stared at it in anticipation, but when you finally take your mind off it, it would fly by at an incredible speed. Following that logic, it must have been the latter for him, since he did not have a clock to look at. He did not care for this, however. He felt unusually cross toward the concept of clocks and time, which was rather unreasonable once he thought of it. Aside from that, he felt that time had lost its definitive hold on this place.

Something curious caught his glazed eyes, and he woke back up at once.

The sky clicked and turned a vivid shade of cerulean. The foliage brightened a vivid, spring-like green. The sun shined just outside of his reach, for he was within the cool shade. Chirps of Pidgey chattered in the nearby Route 29, and the weather was perfect and cloudless, as always. The drowsy, gray environment had bloomed into a picture of fragile beauty, which could easily be lost at the flick of a button. His world, he felt, was now being spoon-fed the life it no longer had.

His flimsy mind tapped into the same energy. He remembered the most vital of memories, and he continued to recall events at a rapid speed. The jumble of disconnected pieces fit together, and they did not slip away anymore.

As for the unknown girl he felt concern for... she was...

Silver clenched his fists and scrambled to his feet, ignoring the slight dizziness one gained from sitting in one place for too long.

"Kris!" His voice was sent out into the wilderness he faced, never returned by another. Uneasy that he did not know where he was, although it felt familiar to him, he spun around.

It was a familiar place indeed, he realized as he stared into the window of Professor Elm's laboratory. Three PokéBalls sat perfectly still on the table inside, much like how he recalled seeing it long ago. A laptop was on the desk nearby, and he suspected that it was just waiting to receive an e-mail at some convenient moment. The professor himself loitered around at the desk, more or less staying in the same small area as though in wait for someone important, or someone who will soon be important.

An overwhelming sense of nostalgia flooded his mind, and the vast volume of it almost made Silver push it away. Yet he knew that he had to remember, so he continued to accept the feed of forgotten truth.

The first time he had experienced being in this spot, it was novel and he was a particularly rotten and power-hungry child. During the second time, he dismissed the first time, which he did not recall very well. He had been much less nasty, but much more stubborn. On the third time, he had felt as though the first and second times, which he still barely remembered, were almost premonitions. He had matured more than in the previous times, in his opinion. The fourth time, though—which was right now—he remembered all of the third time, and that was all he _needed_ to know. Thanks to Kris, merely knowing that the first and second times existed made sense, and they proved her words.

He was in a video game, and this was the very first spot Silver was supposed to be.

"It's really true then," he murmured deeply. As if he did not believe that before he had blacked out, what with the glitched doors and inverting colors raving around him. He patted around his jacket, finding no PokéBalls; the Pokémon he had trained and grown up with were gone for good, or at least for a while. "Does that mean Dani... 'restarted' the game from the beginning? ...Or did Kris really..."

He did not want to think about Kris's current condition, for the fear of it secretly gripped him. However, he simply had to think about her, and the only thing he wanted to do was to run to her house and check if she was alright. Even if her door would not work, he would climb to the second floor and break a window or something. (He seemed good at that kind of thing, sneaking around and being a thief in the beginning and such.) He would take a look inside first of course, hoping that Kris was there looking back at him with a bored expression on her face. She would look surprised, and then she would smile that rare and pretty smile of hers.

But there was one problem with that: he could not move. His arms had frozen stiff at his sides, he could not move his head or even the tips of his fingers, and he remained staring at the window. Now that he noticed this restriction of movement, he found it somewhat suffocating. With dark reluctance, he accepted that he had no choice but to wait until the feeling passed. He prayed to whatever higher power there was (perhaps Ho-oh, Lugia, or Celebi in his case) that it would not last long.

Silver raised his head when a sudden thought, a command, ran through his mind.

"So this is the famous Elm Pokémon Lab..." he recited this in fascination.

With his mind now focused on the past, he remembered saying this at least once before. And if he remembered correctly, he would soon turn around to see Kris. His breath hitched as he got the feeling that he was being watched. Attempting a smirk, he turned around.

There Kris was, staring at him quietly.

He could not help but give her a skeptical look, annoyed but comforted with the fact that she was at least healthy enough to walk about. However, his relief was quickly smothered. The longer he looked at her, the more he could tell that something was wrong. She stared at him, but that was all she did. She did not even react when they had made eye contact. Nothing was reflected in her eyes, nothing was displayed on her face, and nothing was suggested in her body language. She was simply there, but contradictory to that, she was also not there. A mere, soulless puppet...No, there was definitely still a spirit in her hazel eyes; Silver refused to believe otherwise.

She seemed to gaze at him differently after a moment.

"What are you staring at?" Silver suddenly snapped, the words falling out of his mouth. In accordance to this, his body took control of him as he pushed the girl away and returned to his spot. Appalled at himself, he cursed and watched from the corner of his eye as Kris moved out of his line of sight. His feet were rooted to the ground, refusing to let him pursue her.

"Kris!" he shouted as soon as he could. But, of course, she did not listen because she was already gone. "What the hell? Why did I—?

"Oh, right... It's 'programmed', isn't it?" He frowned and ran his fingers through his hair. "I hate this already."

Why hadn't he believed Kris sooner? If he had known about the nature of his world beforehand, he might have been able to stop this strange and ominous occurrence from happening. Instead of resigning to the Indigo Plateau, could have been with her during her time of need. He might have been able to make a difference, however little it was. It upset him the more he thought of it; he detested feeling helpless and restrained. This reckless emotion tried to avoid putting the blame on him, blaming Kris for not telling him directly. But there was a reason for that, and she had said it herself on that blissful night of lemonade, burgers, and games.

_"If you haven't figured it out by now...then you'll never believe me..."_

Kris's good-natured knowledge and judgment, as always, hit the mark. He did not want to admit it, but he would not have believed her at all if she had told him earlier—or when she was not moments away from losing her memory. He would have thought that she was delusional no matter what evidence she offered. Who _would_ believe her? The thought of one's existence containing an unchangeable fate was unpleasant. People were rebelliously protective over their free-will, and saw fate as some tragic concept they did not want to give into. No one would believe in that kind of reality willingly (as he had learned from personal experience).

Regardless, Silver felt guilty and foolish. He did not see through _any_ of the signs she had given to him, and they were numerous. There were more than two-hundred fifty-one Pokémon, even though Silver had never heard of any of them. Hoenn, Sinnoh, and other regions contained them, even though Silver had never seen a map outside of Johto or Kanto. Even Kris's own _behavior_ was a hint. She had known this, that, the other, and everything, but she had been so genuine with telling him the truth that he suspected nothing of it. He only thought that she was a peculiar girl, gifted with uncanny strength and bestowed with uncommon knowledge as a result.

But didn't he want to figure her out in the first place?

The truth was one he neither wanted nor expected. Now that he finally understood, he regretted not catching on sooner.

His eyes darted toward the window again, a combination of both instinct and desire. Sure enough, he saw Kris walk toward Professor Elm. The professor talked to her about something, checked his e-mail, talked to her some more, and then gestured the PokéBalls on the table. Kris's expression—if it could even be called that—did not change throughout the entire thing.

Silver scowled faintly at her apathy. She looked so desolate that it made him want to shake the life back into her, and he had the hope that the damage done to her would just go away after a while. But that was doubtful, and he could not do anything, which only served to frustrate him.

In a hasty attempt to suppress his impatience, he searched his mind to recall what she had first looked like during this part of the storyline. It was not a clear memory, but he could imagine that she was the opposite of the indifference now. Kris must have resembled an ordinary child: cheerful, innocent, and completely unaware of Dani's existence. Frankly, he could not regard her with such normalcy; it was amongst what made her most unique.

Kris probably would have still remembered the first day of her existence. She had retained her memories from the beginning, while he and everyone else in the world would forget every time Dani selected "New Game". History literally repeated for her, and Dani was the only source of any new amusement. It was no wonder that Kris was so attached to her, even though Dani abandoned her on whatever passing whim.

And it was no wonder that Kris appreciated _him_ so much, even though he passed it off as a result of her shyness...

Now, he could not tell what Kris felt or remembered. As she stood there without anyone around her, it finally occurred to him of how isolated she had been. The world and her very actions were out of her control, and she had traveled by herself, waited by herself, and watched everything happen by herself. On that day when he had caught her crying, she was also by herself. He had figured that she had a strong bond with her Pokémon, but she rarely mentioned them. On top of that, she had never allowed them to casually spend time with her, even when there was perfectly enough space for her team. That had always bothered him, since _she_ was the first one that made him start caring for his Pokémon. As he rationalized it further, he noticed that he had never even seen her PokéBalls outside of battles. It was curious and strange, as though her Pokémon did not belong to her to begin with.

He then came upon a pitiable theory: her Pokémon were _not_ hers. They were...Dani's. Kris had not even been privileged with the single, most simple joy of a Pokémon Trainer: the Pokémon themselves...even though she was the Champion of both Johto and Kanto.

Silver held back whatever it was that trembled in his throat. It was almost tragic, and Kris had taken it so submissively without a single complaint. That in itself generated a dash of frustration.

"You've been alone the entire time, and you were the only one that knew. But if you stop living because of something like that... then you're already dead," he said. He glared through the window and at her emotionless face. "Just _look_ at yourself, Kris."

The girl turned away, deaf to his words spoken beyond the single piece of glass that separated them. She approached the table and looked over each of the spheres. As she predictably picked Chikorita, a familiar desire to choose the Cyndaquil passed through Silver. She returned to face Professor Elm, who lectured her and offered her his PokéGear number before he fell into silence.

Instead of taking a u-turn and leaving the building, Kris stiffly stood where she was. Silver recognized this peculiar stance, having seen her do it several times at the Indigo Plateau before he was able to talk to her. It was possible to deduce that the "player" was saving progress. Perhaps Dani was testing to see if the internal battery, if that was what Kris had called it, had died.

To her, it was a loss of data. To him, and to Kris, it was a collapse of their world.

The azure sky toned down to an ashy periwinkle, the trees darkened, the sunlight dimmed, and the festive Pokémon cries silenced. The invisible shackles put upon Silver were released, and he shook his shoulders to ring out the stiffness. His eyes never left the window, fixated on Kris as though he expected her to simply disappear at any moment. It would not surprise him, for he had been forced to believe anything at this point.

Ironically, Kris surprised him a moment later. She displayed a sign of true emotion—a rather worn out, defeated twitch of a smile—and placed the PokéBall back beside the others. She turned to leave, and her PokéGear dangling around her neck swung a little, no doubt the most animated part of her. Neither Professor Elm nor his assistant stopped her as she slowly walked past them. In fact, the professor returned to the seat at his desk, as though the entire sequence had been a practice for some skit.

Without warning, although the events inside were probably linked to it, Silver began to feel exhausted. The fatigue invaded relentlessly, delving deep into his conscious. His thoughts began to slip and fall apart, much like it had been before when he had woken up. With Dani's unwitting assistance, the so-called internal battery must have had regained a sliver of energy, but it would not be long before it went dead again.

Time was—once more—running out for them.

"No, not now. Damn you!" he cursed whatever it was that had broken his friend and old rival. The very image of Kris's face was already...fading away.

In his desperation not to lose himself, an idea then struck him. There was a very small window of opportunity left for him to pursue. Maybe it was futile, maybe it would end with them both forgetting once more, and maybe he had already tried, and they were in a cycle of failed attempts. But it was still a window, a last ditch effort.

And he would be damned if he did not make it to her this time.

Silver turned and ran alongside the yellow siding of the laboratory, his pent-up tension finally released. He flinched from the transition between shadow and daylight. Kris had exited the lab and, with her back turned, headed straight for her house. In a burst of his depleting energy, he sprinted toward her.

"Hold it, Kris!" he called.

She did not stop, but that did not deter him. As soon as he got close enough to reach her, he grabbed her delicate shoulder and turned her around. The girl reacted to his touch, shivering and glancing in his general direction with a blankly confused look. It reminded him of the first time he had gotten her attention; she was always so sensitive.

"Kris," he said, fighting the drowsiness that threatened to slur his speech. "Do you remember anything?"

She did not speak.

"..._Anything?_" he pressed urgently, clutching the sleeve of her jacket.

She did not utter a sound.

"Come on!" He shook her shoulder. "You have to remember something. You're not that stupid!"

She blinked silently.

"_Damn it!_"Silver evaded his gaze. "I told you not to give up. I _told _you...!"

"...What... did you want to say to me?"

Her voice immediately prompted him to meet her gaze again. Kris had made the effort to look him in the eye this time, and her emptiness contained the same amount of depth as it had been. Her words, however, stirred inside his mind like an endless ricochet. She could have referred to him currently, but she could have meant it in a different way...before their conversation over the PokéGear was disconnected. He chose, and hoped for, the latter.

"I wanted to say that it doesn't matter what kind of 'reality' we're in," he said to her. "And just because our reality works differently doesn't make Dani's reality any better than this one. To us, _this_ is our reality. If you don't try to live in it, then you'll really be nothing but a video game character. You're better than that."

She blinked again. No response.

Silver scowled bitterly. "Kris, snap out of it! You look pathetic!" He rested his head against her forehead, glaring at their feet. Although her skin was at a healthy temperature, she was so stiff that he might as well have been talking to a wall. "Stop looking at me like that. I'm sorry I left you alone. I'll believe everything you say from now on, even if I don't understand it! I'll let you play as Mario for as long as you want, and I won't care if you laugh at me for losing! So for Celebi's sake, just snap out of it already...!"

He could feel her move a little, and a small intake of breath caught his ears. His grip on her tightened, determined not to let her go. She was probably getting worse, resorting to her instincts that were ordering her to go back home. He certainly would not allow that. Even if she were to struggle, he would struggle back. For just this time, though it was likely too late yet again, he would at least stick with her until the end. They would both forget, but at least Kris would not be alone this time... He would have continued trying to jog her memory, but her stare was too wrenching for him to tolerate any longer. This, holding her here, was the only thing left he could do.

It was quiet for a moment, for just one torturous, utterly silent moment.

"...Hey..."

"I'm not moving," he muttered. He was not going to get his hopes up again. "Not until you remember something."

He felt her breath brush against his hair.

"Y...You're right, Silver..."

His name. She said his name.

The instant he pulled away, he caught only a glimpse of her before she clung to him without warning. Although her arms were so dainty, she held him tightly as though letting go would erase her fleeting memories forever. Stunned, he wrapped his arms around her awkwardly and waited until she loosened her grip. Kris looked back up at him and smiled sincerely, her apathy swept away as she fully recognized the boy in front of her. She was on the verge of tears, but that only complimented the sparkle that had returned in her hazel eyes.

"You're right," she repeated.

"I-Idiot," Silver stuttered. "Why did you remember only now?"

"...'For Celebi's sake' will always sound weird to me," she replied with a little grin. It weakened, though, as she was struck by a severe wave of dizziness. She stumbled, and he supported her the best that he could. With this, the two belatedly remembered the situation at hand.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm feeling lightheaded again... It won't be long. At all..."

"...This place is done for, Kris. At this rate, we'll just keep forgetting over and over again."

"Yes. But... what can we do? If we can even do anything," she asked with a sigh.

"I just told you not to give up, didn't I?"

"But there's nothing we can do..."

"It doesn't matter if we _can_. We'll try it anyways. Do whatever you want to do," he replied, pulling her arm over his shoulders.

"I...I don't know."

"Say whatever comes to mind."

"...I just want to go somewhere else." Kris looked away for some time, although that time must have been short since neither of them would last for very long. She met his gaze again, blushing a tiny bit. "I want to be as free as possible, to be an independent Trainer...as long as I can be with you."

"Okay then," Silver nodded, "we're getting out of here."

"...Huh? Wait, wait, what are you doing?" His response was so simple it caught her off-guard, and she began to panic as he snatched the PokéGear from around her neck. Despite it supposedly being fixed, as Kris's mother had always said when she gave her the phone, it still contained the hideous crack stretching across the screen.

"I just said we're getting out of here," he reiterated, unfaltering in the face of her uncertainty.

"Are...y-you sure? What will you do? What will happen to us...?" she asked, reaching for her phone. Instead of pulling it out of her reach, he allowed her to grab it as well, her hand overlapping his.

"I don't know. We'll just have to see. It's better than being here, isn't it?"

"You could say that..."

"I don't care where we end up, even if we're thrown into those HeartGold and SoulSilver games. As long as it'll cure you of this internal battery or whatever the hell it is, we'll move on from here."

"But...Lyra deserves her turn, too..."

"Humph. Trust me, if you turn out to be that female-Mario, I'll laugh my ass off the moment I see you. I might not even push you over."

Unable to contain it, Kris laughed weakly, resulting in a grin from him. The two turned to face the broken PokéGear they held hand-in-hand. They raised it over their heads, trusting their combined strength to break it. They hesitated and gave each other one final glance.

"See you later," Silver said with a determined smirk.

"Goodbye," Kris returned with a sleepy smile.

Giving the white device one final squeeze, they hurled it to the ground.

The PokéGear shattered on impact, and their world that was at its end shrieked high-pitched static. A brightness blinded them both, an intense pressure threatened to rip them to pieces, and they held onto each other until the violent force wrenched them apart.

* * *

Everything was frigid, quiet, and incredibly dark. It unnerved her to no end, even though she had just come to...

Immediately, she wished that she was not alone. It was not as though she did not like solitude, but solitude infected with uncertainty was a lethal poison. So she listened carefully. From the unfortunate silence, she guessed that no one was nearby. She had the impression that she had put herself in this predicament, but she currently could not recall how. An ache lingered on her side, and she assumed that she had taken a rough fall. The pain forced her to seal her eyes shut. Who knew that pain could have exceeded beyond an occasional shove? Yet from what she could gather, her physical safety was the last thing that she had been worried about. (With only her confusion and these thoughts to bear, "how strange," was her first impression of herself.)

The soft coldness closest to her melted on her cheek, serving only to intensify the chill. For some time she rested there, on the borderline of consciousness. She did not know what she wanted to do, but it occurred to her that she did not want to sleep. She wanted to lead her own life, and to do that she had to put forth her own effort to do it the way she wished.

But she was so weak; she was stiff and freezing, and she could not move. Her numb limbs trembled, the feeling in them evanescent. She clenched a handful of powdery ice, which crunched in her grasp as she struggled against her cold fate.

Her goals sprung forth along with her full consciousness. She was not going to give up. She was going to move on to a new world, and she would get there no matter what stood in her way. There would be hurdles and restrictions, but all realities contained them. And even then, she would break some of them to get what she wanted. She was wherever she was, existing and feeling, and there was no need to hold onto anything else to prove her existence. She was alive, hopefully, and she would not resort to seeing herself as a program any longer. She _was_ alive, she convinced herself, and so she was going to live!

Gathering all of her strength—her heart beating, her soul unwavering, and her mind racing—she finally forced herself to move.

She opened her eyes.

Everything had been dyed white, but it was not an empty white. The clouds hung unusually low in the sky, and a bed of snow surrounded her. What she thought was silence had actually been a consistent gust of wind that licked her cheeks. It was still dreadfully cold, but she did not mind it much any longer, for it had a reason to be there. She noticed that someone was standing beside her, and she turned her head to see who it was.

The first heroine met the gaze of the first hero.

The boy yielded a hint of intrigue, genuinely satisfied by her willpower. This puzzled her at first, but she came across long-overdue realization. He must have understood what she was going through; he had been just like her, and he had searched, broken his limits and found his liberty. That was why he was where he was.

He held out his hand, willing to help her. She smiled and felt energy coursing through her as she took it, and he grinned in return as he pulled her to her feet. Although they should not have been able to speak, she thanked him heartily, and he returned the gesture politely.

Their voices were the sole proof of their freedom.


	7. Chapter 7: Successor

Hello again, I apologize for the long wait!

What a journey it was to finish this chapter. I've written several completely different drafts before settling on this one. Combined with college, no inspiration, and life in general, it took me forever to get it done. There will be an epilogue, but this is the last big update. (And I promise the epilogue won't take as long as this chapter did. lol)

Now, please enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 7  
**Successor

With a quick intake of breath, Silver marched into the laboratory. Research-filled bookshelves loomed over him as he took even strides down the hall. He stood up straight and almost nervously tugged at his sleeves to remove any wrinkles from his sharp black jacket. Using the front entrance felt incredibly unnatural to him, but he swept the feeling aside and maintained an unwavering gait.

The professor's assistant turned and watched him from afar, furrowing his eyebrows with uncertainty. Having only been used to one particular kind of person, which Silver certainly was not, he appeared utterly baffled by his appearance. But it did not take him long to recognize the young boy—the thief that broke into this establishment a certain time ago. He dropped his clipboard and began rushing over to him in a helpless, frenzied panic.

"Wait, you!" the assistant exclaimed.

Silver quickened his pace and brushed past him without a second glance. He was committed to completing his task. It was something he felt was long overdue, and he would _not_ let himself be stopped.

He approached the kind-hearted, if somewhat clumsy professor, who looked in his direction upon hearing the aide's commotion. Silver kept himself composed as he stopped before the man, showing no anxiety on his face or in his body language. The quiet determination he carried made him wonder if it reminded the professor of someone.

Unfortunately, he had the feeling they would be thinking of entirely different people.

Silver looked down and pulled out a Poké Ball from his jacket pocket. He stared at it pensively and held it out in front of him.

"Here," he said.

"…What?" asked Professor Elm, clueless.

"The Pokémon I stole," Silver explained tersely. "I'm returning it. I'm sorry I broke into your lab."

"You're…_ returning_ it?" The man's confusion was overtaken by shock. He took a moment to adjust the wide glasses on his nose, as if to determine what he saw was not his imagination. In a single mellow motion, he picked up the Poké Ball.

Silver averted his gaze as he felt the ball's weight lift from his outstretched hand, preparing to never again see the creature within it. Though it was not his old Typhlosion, it was his first Pokémon in this plane of existence. And after fighting many battles together, he carried some fondness for the Feraligatr. But he had stolen it, and he swore now that there was no turning back. He was going to accept the consequences of his actions. It_ was_ the right thing to do, he reassured himself. The doubting thoughts lingered, however, as he did his best to concentrate on the situation at hand.

"It seems to have grown attached to you now," Professor Elm said. He regarded the Poké Ball with a profound stare, as though he was peering into the very mind of the Pokémon inside. He looked back at the boy, wearing a small but enlightened smile. "Are you sure about this?"

Silver shrugged dismissively; at least, he tried to be dismissive about it. He did not want to guilt trip the man into giving it back.

"I appreciate that you came back to apologize. Thank you."

With a curt nod, Silver turned away with his eyes focused on the spotless floor below his feet. A somber feeling was beginning to shake in his heart, and he planned to leave as quickly as possible. It would not be good for anyone, or especially his pride, to cause a scene. The stolen Pokémon had been returned. He should feel fortunate that he was being allowed to leave scot-free in the first place.

But before he could even begin making his leave, he looked back up and froze.

The ball had slid back into his vision. The hand that held it turned over and let go, forcing him to catch it. He stared at the Poké Ball in utter surprise and looked back at the professor.

"You can keep it," Professor Elm told him.

Silver did not respond at first. Eventually, he untwisted his frown and asked, "Why?"

The scholar glanced at the high-tech, steel-plated machine behind them. Within its cylindrical shape, there were three shallow bowls that would fit Poké Balls quite snugly. This machine was what held Elm's Pokémon—much more elaborate and secure than placing them on a table. But similar to the time when Silver had stolen his Totodile, Professor Elm left it unlocked; the protective glass casing gone. No Poké Balls were left in the container, and it now sat off on its own without a purpose.

"When you first made off with that Pokémon, my assistant and I were worried how you were going to treat it," explained Professor Elm. "A Pokémon raised by a bad person can turn bad itself.

"But I've heard from Lyra that you've changed your ways, and your Pokémon seems to greatly reflect this. I can imagine it would only be sad it if were taken away from you. Don't you feel the same way?"

The redheaded boy lowered his gaze, gripping the sphere.

"Lyra...huh," he muttered.

"The two of you have met multiple times over the course of her travels, is that right?" Professor Elm said with a reserved smile. "She says that you never mistreated your Pokémon despite your actions, but I think you and Lyra have really learned from one another."

Silver glared up at him abruptly. "Humph, if that's what—."

He stopped himself with great restraint. The harsh tone he had used left a dense air between them, and the man appeared taken aback by it. He was thoroughly at a loss about what could have triggered the boy's temper.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Professor Elm asked with concern.

Silver relaxed his shoulders and sighed, shaking his head. "Never mind. It's nothing… I need to leave now. Thank you, Professor."

He bowed briefly to show his gratitude and headed for the exit. The scowl that darkened his brow lightened a bit. Elm's words should not have come as a surprise, but his temper just slipped out. It did not bother him much, however. He was not planning on returning here anyway.

Looking back at his Poké Ball, he managed to make a small smile. He was able to keep his companion, at least. It felt as though nothing was really accomplished, but he supposed it was not completely pointless. He was left with a strange, but rewarding kind of feeling that touched one's heart. But when he spotted the lab assistant pulling out a handkerchief in order to dry his tears, Silver rolled his eyes. He did his best to ignore the overemotional man as he left the laboratory in a similar fashion as when he entered.

New Bark Town's refreshing breeze tickled his cheek as he walked outside. After taking a couple of steps, he stopped and quietly gazed around him.

A vivid variety of colors and sounds greeted him from all directions. Blades of soft green grass rustled around his feet; the bright white windmills that dotted the town whirred away in the wind; and he could even hear the curious sound of waves coming from the pond further down the road. He stayed where he stood, allowing some of his stress to slip away as he simply watched the world tick.

Since arriving here, he found that taking everything in like this became something of a habit of his. There were sounds layered upon sounds, an endless amount of bright and unique colors, and the world felt incredibly spacious. Everything just looked gorgeous. Each detail added to Johto and Kanto's routes and towns commanded his attention, and he made certain not to take any of it for granted. Even the _sky_ was different and interesting. Its hue, and the light the sun gave off, changed many times a day—so many that he still could not easily distinguish between them. The evening was especially new to him because he was so used to day instantly turning into night. The landscape would always be cloaked in a comfortable veil of orange, as though in silent praise of everyone's hard work at the end of the day. He personally enjoyed it the most.

Silver stepped out onto the main road, which was an earthy path that weaved cleanly between the town's few houses and yards. When compared to his world of origin, so many changes had been made. He contemplated over how much more accurate it was to Dani's world—which he assumed all of this was inevitably based off of. He knew that he would likely never know; he did not think even _she_ would know. Yet he could not help but wonder.

At this thought, he peered behind him at a particular spot outside the laboratory. After a somber pause, Silver made his way over to it. This quiet area along the side of the building, where he had first woken up in this world, was covered in cool shade as it had always been.

Kris was nowhere to be found. In the time he spent in this universe, he had searched exhaustively when he could, but to no avail. What he did find was disheartening. No one remembered her name, her face, or anything she had accomplished. Any trace of her existence had been wiped clean.

So instead of Kris, the first person he met at this spot was someone named Lyra. She was a girl with brown hair set in a suspicious set of two ponytails; she was a mere ten-year-old child with bright brown eyes and a cheerful personality; she was a stranger dressed in a red shirt and blue overalls—which did make her resemble Mario somewhat.

It was this person who would become a prodigy and eventually take the title of Champion in Johto and Kanto, which to him was Kris' alone. To everyone else, it was Lyra's; and to them, Silver was delusional because a prodigy named Kris simply was not real.

One of Kris's deepest fears had been realized: she had been replaced in every way possible, completely and easily forgotten. He still remembered when he could not have even_ imagined_ it possible. To think that, at one point, he had belittled those fears as ridiculous right to her face… Then again, a nonexistent person would be completely unaware of the legacy he left behind—or lack thereof, but it still made him feel awful about it.

Because of all this, Silver struggled over his bitterness toward Lyra. For a while, he thoroughly despised her. And she was an easy target to vent his anger on, for everything else in this world was practically the same. Barring the aesthetic changes, she was the one glaring difference.

However, a part of him knew that Kris very well could have sacrificed herself for the girl. Kris had told him that she wanted to give Lyra a turn at life, and did not want to selfishly steal it from her. (He wished that she _had _been selfish for once.) She seemed to have been finished with the heroine role overall, desiring nothing more than freedom from that restrictive responsibility. If that were so, how far would she be willing to go to achieve it? If there was no other way than death, would she have chosen it? Her hauntingly apathetic eyes, a faraway memory from before they started talking to one another, made him grimace almost flinchingly. There was no way she would have, he thought at first. But he resigned that he could not know for certain. It was bittersweet that he found himself still pondering over her when, really, there was no way for him to find the answer anymore.

Nevertheless, Lyra had nothing to do with it; she was just filling in what seemed to be an empty spot. Kris' disappearance was caused by the hands of another, and he found himself missing her the longer he went without seeing her.

Did they really make the right decision of leaving their past universe? Was it his fault that she was gone? Did he effectively kill her by smashing her broken PokéGear, which represented the internal battery that was afflicting her? Should he have held onto her tighter when the screeching white noise overcame and pulled them apart?

These questions tortured him at one point, and on occasion still did.

But he had to move on, somehow, and the repeating storyline of this world brought him a bit of comfort. He played the role of the stubborn, abusive rival that was obsessed with strength and hated the weak. Because he had already matured and learned of his flaws, he could not be quite as unreasonably cruel as he once was. He often had to play up his anger so that it matched his scripted words, which only confused Lyra. And gathering from Professor Elm's words, she was not fooled by his act. She was not entirely stupid, not at all. She had a strong, natural potential to be a decent Pokémon Trainer.

So eventually, Silver took it upon himself to at least prevent Lyra from becoming incompetent. She was Kris' successor; to make her a fitting one became his goal. It was simple, really: he watched over her progress and made certain to _never_ go easy on her in the battles they fought. Some unexpected things did happen along the way, including one particular incident involving a Team Rocket uniform in Goldenrod City, but overall Lyra seemed to prove herself in Silver's eyes. She, too, fought Red on Mt. Silver and completed the Pokédex—all 493 of them. With the addition of the Pokéathlon and the Battle Frontier, the latter which she was still working to conquer, Lyra had arguably accomplished much more than Kris ever could in her lifetime.

But that was the role of the protagonist. Kris could have done it just as well. In that sense, there was literally no difference between them. They were simply obeying what their "owners" told them to do.

Silver took a moment to stretch. He had enough of admiring the updated graphics of the world around him for now, and he pondered on what to do next. He had already battled Lyra on Mt. Moon, and an interesting thing happened just recently—before Silver stopped by Professor Elm's Laboratory, in fact. But now, again, it seemed as though there was nothing left to do.

He leaned against the wall of the lab and crossed his arms stubbornly. All signs pointed to one place, and he pondered to find some other way.

Silver refused to go to the Indigo Plateau. The Pokémon League was special to him; it was his and Kris' place where they talked and spent so much time together. He did not want to come to terms with the fact that she would not show up there ever again—that instead he would see Lyra, and that he would have to battle _her_ on Mondays and Wednesdays for the rest of his time in this world. The idea was still too difficult, too depressing, for him to accept.

As a result, Silver had recently been delaying it as long as he had the power to. And surprisingly enough, it was working. For most days of the week, he resolved to stay in the Dragon's Den and train his Pokémon.

But one day, today, Lyra happened to find him. This triggered some kind of event involving the appearance of the (ex-) Champion Lance and Blackthorn's Gym Leader Clair, and Silver teamed up with Lyra to fight them both at the same time. The style of fighting was called a "Double Battle", and to him it was the strangest thing to have four Pokémon out on the battlefield. The battle itself was extremely difficult, even for Lyra, but the feeling of finally defeating Lance gave him a great sense of closure.

By waiting in the Dragon's Den, and by attempting to return his Feraligatr, did he unknowingly follow the world's programming again, or did the world have to make up for his actions? He did not know.

Silver rubbed the shiny metal surface of the Poké Ball he still held, watching himself in the reflection it cast. His hair had been cut shorter than it used to be, and his bangs were neater so that both of his silver-blue eyes could be seen clearly. The town's ever-present breeze sent a few strands askew, but he continued to stare blankly until he slowly closed his eyes.

Kris was gone. He needed to stop hiding from that fact. For the past year and a half, he had been yearning nostalgically for the days that were long gone. He had to move on, and he would continue to accept Lyra a little bit at a time. It would be wrong to slander her too much, for she was the same kind of person that Kris was. He had no idea if Lyra knew the truth behind this reality, but he hoped she was oblivious for her own sake. Living in neither yet both just restricted Kris and brought her misery.

Decide where you are and live in the reality you are in, he thought. For all he knew, he was living in a series of fake realities, but would it really matter? He was where he was, and he would make the best of the present moment. And whenever this world collapsed, he would willingly move on to the next in search of Kris. No matter how many iterations he would have to go through, he vowed not to forget her.

He hoped that, until then, she was waiting in a better place.

Silver suddenly stood up straight, prompted to do so by a subtle thing that he could not see or touch. But he was all too familiar with it, and for a few seconds kept his feet rooted to the ground. With a resilient glare in his eyes, he looked up and decided to yield to the sensation. He released his newly-evolved Crobat, took a deep breath, and flew through the afternoon sky.

It was a Monday, and his schedule was calling for him.

* * *

Even from far away, Silver noticed that drastic changes had been made to the Elite Four's headquarters. The closer he got to the Indigo Plateau, the more blatant the differences became. Much unlike the blocky warehouse it once was, it now resembled a formidable castle built with great care. Draped in scarlet and detailed gold-colored molding, the Pokémon League stood strongly atop the plateau with towering authority. Stone arches and Poké Ball-themed pillars adorned the path that connected the Pokémon League to Victory Road. It was impressive sight, similar to what he had always imagined it should have looked like. He almost looked forward to going inside to see the changed interior.

As he landed, he discovered why his instincts had told him to come.

"Oh hi, Silver! Over here!"

He groaned as Lyra, standing right in front of the Pokémon League, called out and waved to him energetically. The girl had figured out rather quickly how to talk to others, and she was a real chatterbox. She took full advantage of her free time, and if Silver ever had the unfortunate luck to be spotted by her, she would make a beeline for him and talk his ears off if he let her. (He usually didn't.) The pace at which she learned her limits overall was far faster compared to Kris, as though she was taught it from the start. She was probably oblivious to it altogether.

Standing beside her, the girl's Typhlosion yipped in a similar manner. Damn her—Dani, he meant, or whoever it was that "owned" this world—for picking the Cyndaquil he was so used to. But he did not really mind much now; he rather liked his Feraligatr's sheer reckless power anyway.

Lyra always had a Pokémon with her. This girl would never know loneliness, or the plight of her predecessor. And he supposed that was fine, in the end.

"It's about time you got here," Lyra said with a perky smile. "You shouldn't keep a lady waiting!"

"I'd hardly call you a lady," Silver responded dryly.

"That's not what I meant, you big Babiri berry!"

"What?"

"I'll become lady in a few years, so_ of course_ I'm not a lady yet."

"Then that's your fault for referring yourself as one."

"Humph!" Lyra mimicked him and crossed her arms, pouting.

Silver subtly rolled his eyes. He would question her ridiculous logic further, but knew he would get nowhere. Much like Kris, Lyra was eccentric, but Lyra was a _different_ kind of eccentric. She sometimes just could _not_ be reasoned out of her strangeness. It was as though her head was always in the clouds—which her puffy white hat seemed to resemble, fittingly.

"Anyway!" Switching back to her cheerful quirkiness, Lyra asked, "Do you want to battle?"

"No," he declined. Since Lyra was still chatting freely, and he felt no need to follow a script, it was not necessary for them to fight yet. Dani, or whoever it was, must have saved and left soon after moving Lyra here.

"Oh. Are you here to challenge the Elite Four?"

"Not really."

"What, what? Then why are you here?" Lyra questioned and tilted her head in curiosity.

Silver evaded her gaze and refused to answer. She wouldn't understand, he thought.

"_Sheesh_, why do you hate me so much?" The girl's arms and shoulders went limp as she made a brooding frown.

"I don't hate you," he stated. "Just don't ask."

There was a moment of silence between them. It was peculiar since Lyra liked to fill in that space whenever possible, normally with the most nonsensical notion. But she just watched him with a somewhat troubled stare; aware of his sorrow, but probably forever naive to the reason behind it. As usual, however, she took the initiative and spoke.

"Anyway, I've been wondering, have you been to Professor Elm's Lab recently?"

"Yeah," Silver answered. "So?"

Lyra giggled. "I was just there, too! And I heard what happened: you tried to return the Pokémon you stole. I'm so proud of you!"

Hell, he just got here and she was waiting for him anyway; how did she know about that already? Regardless, Silver clicked his tongue and uttered a typical, "Humph."

"I'm really happy the Professor let you keep your Feraligatr! But while you were there, did you notice the thing?"

"The what?"

"The thing that had the things," she responded, acting as though it were the best answer in the world.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Well, you know. The thing!"

"What _thing?_ Try being more _specific_ for once."

"Oh, okay. I was talking about the Poké Ball container. It was the machine that Professor Elm used to keep our first Pokémon in."

"Why didn't you just say that from the start?" asked Silver.

"I'm lazy," she exclaimed perkily.

"That's not something you should say with pride; all you did was waste more time—."

"_Anyway!_" Lyra shouted over him. He gave her a reprimanding glare, and she grinned apologetically before looking down a bit. She at least understood when she was stepping over the line. Moments later, she put on another curious, but calmer, expression. "I don't know when it happened, but the last Pokémon is gone."

"The 'last'…?" Silver thought back to the lab, confirming the validity of her words. The high-tech container should have had one Pokémon left, as he and the nutty girl in the overalls took the other two.

"I asked about it, but Professor Elm didn't give me a straight answer," she added.

"What about your weird friend with the Marill?"

"His name's Ethan and he isn't weird!"

"Whatever. Didn't he take it?"

The boy named they spoke of, Ethan, lived in New Bark Town and was Lyra's childhood friend. He never made a name for himself; he simply wandered around Johto and Kanto, doing whatever he felt like and often helping Lyra. Silver always thought that the black-yellow design of the boy's hat reminded him of the pattern on Kris' shorts, and he also felt strangely familiar, like Silver should have known him. So for a while, he was cautious of Ethan—and hoped to dear Celebi that Kris did not suddenly get bored with being a girl. But the two crossed paths a couple of times, and he concluded that Ethan definitely was _not_ Kris. Ethan was very sociable and not awkward in the slightest in Silver's presence. He also had the uncanny ability to piss off Silver, all the while keeping an amiable temperament. Silver decided not to bother with him if he could help it.

"No," Lyra responded to him with a frustrated huff. "Ethan would've told me if Professor Elm gave it to him."

"So what, then? Does it matter?" he asked impatiently. He was getting tired of having to talk with her for so long; her antics rapidly wore down his patience. At this point, he would have left already. But she was standing in the way of the Pokémon League, and Silver was not going to run. He had done enough of that.

"_Well,_ you got the Water-type Totodile, and _I_ got the Fire-type Cyndaquil. So what was the last Pokémon, I wonder? Was it a Grass-type?" Lyra cheekily looked up at the sky as she asked this.

"You should know; you completed the Pokédex," Silver snapped. There were currently almost five-hundred Pokémon (more than that, technically), and he knew it as a lot to remember—he was still learning. But Kris had memorized it all without even having a reference; she did not even know what they _looked_ like. Lyra had no excuse missing a simple starter Pokémon.

"I don't _remember_," whined Lyra. She placed a hand on her cheek in melodramatic distress, feigning innocence once again.

"Quit playing games; I'm not in the mood."

"But Silv_eeeer_, what Pokémon _was _it?"

"Fine. It was a Chikorita, you happy now?"

He paused as Lyra's chocolate-brown eyes locked onto his. She observed him in a calm and scrutinizing manner, as though trying to watch the gears in his head turn. The girl dropped her act so quickly it astounded him. But she was not as foolish as her appearance gave off, not at all. What was she expecting from him, then?

"Yup, you're right," she said, sparing a little grin. "I wonder who could have gotten it. Do you have any idea?"

Silver did not respond, and his mind steered to a halt as he arrived at the answer. The rival's starter Pokémon always had a type advantage over the protagonist. He used to have a Cyndaquil, and that meant one simple thing.

_Her_ first Pokémon was a Chikorita.

Smiling wider, Lyra looked over her shoulder at the glass door behind her—the entrance to the Pokémon League.

"You shouldn't keep a lady waiting, Silver," she said.

His heart skipped a beat. Frozen in place, Silver followed her gaze.

Then, in a sudden burst of energy he scaled the hill and sprinted past her. The door opened automatically upon his approach, and he ran in. Panting from adrenaline, he searched the lobby. The royal theme of scarlet-gold continued for the Pokémon League's interior, and its structure was changed drastically to what he had been so accustomed to. There were three levels leading up to the doorway where one would challenge the Elite Four. He looked up the set of stairs in front of him, which ascended to the top of the grand lobby.

On the second level stood a female Trainer, a teenage girl with unusual blue pigtails and dressed in an atypical blend of colors. She tended to the Meganium at her side—a Pokémon of her own, which nuzzled the girl lovingly as she petted it with a caring touch.

He thought his eyes were deceiving him at first. But it was obvious; of all places for them to meet again, it was here, just as it should be.

"Hey," the boy managed to say.

Though her Meganium turned to look at him, she did not—her face hidden from view. Her hand slipped away from the Pokémon and fell at her side. She maintained a perfect posture as the seconds crawled by. Seemingly ignoring him, she faced the final slope leading to the Elite Four and began heading toward it.

"Hey, I said!" Silver shouted. With a powerful mixture of emotions raging inside him, he climbed the stairs after her. "Kris! Hold it!"

She froze just before she ascended the first step. He glanced away from her for a second, suddenly tongue-tied.

"You're..." He paused. "You're going to take the Pokémon League challenge now?"

Kris finally turned to him. She wore a beautiful smile that struggled on the verge of tears, but kept her silence as she waited for him to approach. Silver stopped in front of her and, after a moment spent taking in each other's presence, continued his speech. He had forgotten that he hated being cheesy, but right now he did not care. All he could focus on was her.

"You'll have to give up on that," he delivered his lines as evenly as he could. "My well-trained-beyond-recognition Pokémon are going to…"

She smiled a bit more. However, she let out a giggle, which then turned into a laugh as she broke her strict composure. Though she attempted to hold it back by covering her mouth, her emotions spilled out anyway, resulting in her giggling and crying at the same time. Silver gawked at her, helpless at the unexpected reaction.

"What—Why—You're not supposed to laugh! I'm not done yet," he argued, feeling hot in the face.

"Well-trained-beyond-_what_...?" she laughed as softly as she could.

"I was trying to improve my vocabulary," he tried to justify.

"It-It was just fine before...!"

"H-Humph..." Silver attempted to utter his usual wordless reply, but he dropped the facade. He reached out and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly. Kris returned the embrace with a gentle but strong grip.

"For Celebi's sake, where the _hell_ have you been?"

"A lot of places, but...mostly here, j-just here," she said with a sniffle.

"Then how long have you been waiting?"

"H-How long has it been since you've been in this world?"

"Dammit," he said and almost choked on his words, "I should've_ known_ you'd be here."

"It wasn't too long, don't worry," she tried to reassure him. "It's not the longest I've had to wait for someone."

"Then why didn't you just come find me?"

"I wasn't sure if you were the same person or if... Um, I told Lyra to let me know if you said anything. I was going to talk to you eventually, but…but as…as time passed, I—." Kris shook her head and buried her face into his jacket. She took a moment to cry again, overwhelmed by relief. "I-I got scared. I was so scared that you wouldn't remember me. I just c-couldn't…!"

"I would never let that happen—you _know_ that," he told her firmly and loosened his grip a bit to get a better look at her. Wiping away her remaining tears, Kris nodded.

"I know, I know... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hesitated," she said with a humble smile. He smiled back softly.

"That makes the two of us."

It was then that a small, youthful giggle interrupted their tender moment.

With a start, they searched around them and looked down to see Lyra sitting on the steps. Her Typhlosion mimicked her as she gazed up at them with a girlish grin. Kris and Silver looked back at each other and pulled away awkwardly, especially Kris, who stood beside her Meganium with her face as red as a tomato.

"I'm surprised that _you_ were able to keep a secret for so long, loudmouth," Silver retorted as he did his best to compose himself.

"And it's about time _you_ figured out what I've been trying to tell you forever, blockhead," returned Lyra with a satirical jab of her own. She then turned in Kris' direction, giggling some more. "But I did a good job, didn't I, Senpai?"

"Oh, um...Yeah," the older girl replied after a moment.

"…'Senpai'?" He looked at Kris, who shrugged innocently.

"Anyway! In honor of this reunion, let's have a get-together at my house," Lyra announced. She stood and bounded gracefully down the stairs with her Typhlosion. "I'm pretty sure there's some Fresh Water, Lemonade, and Cinnabar volcano burgers at home, and I've got lots of games we can play too. Ooh! Actually, let's make this a party! That means we're gonna need cake and those noise-making things. We should invite other people, too, like—."

Catching onto her contagious enthusiasm, Kris' Meganium followed after the rambling girl with glee. Silver and Kris shared another glance, and Kris made one of her little embarrassed smiles. He made an exaggerated sigh.

"Guess we have no choice," he said.

"It sounds like fun though," she responded in a kindly manner.

"Humph, you really think so? You don't seem the type to like parties." In fact, you aren't the type at _all_, he thought.

Kris made a light shrug. Seeing this, Silver released a short chuckle; she hadn't changed a bit. He began descending the staircase and gestured for her to follow, and she almost timidly caught up with him. Together, they walked down the flight of scarlet-colored steps, trailing behind Lyra who frivolously listed her plans for the impromptu celebration. Kris gazed at her with a soft sparkle in her eyes before looking at the boy beside her. Her smile widened in delight.

"Her house is my house now, after all."

* * *

Author's Note:  
If you have Pokémon HeartGold or SoulSilver, go check Professor Elm's Lab. At some point in the game, around when Togepi hatches and/or Sudowoodo is defeated, the last Poké Ball there vanishes without explanation. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

See you next time, my dear readers!


End file.
